Statham, Mirren, Elba gear up for 'Hobbs and Shaw' premiere

Jason Statham, Helen Mirren and Idris Elba revved into action Tuesday (23 JULY 2019) for the London premiere of their turbocharged "Fast and Furious" spin-off, "Hobbs and Shaw."

The film sees sworn enemies Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Statham) team up to fight genetically enhanced anarchist soldier Brixton, played by Idris Elba.

Dame Helen Mirren and Jason Statham at the "Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw" Special Screening at the Curzon Mayfair on July 23, 2019 in London, England. [Photo: IC]

"The Crown" star Vanessa Kirby takes on the role of a rogue MI6 agent - who happens to be Shaw's sister - while Mirren plays his mother, Magdalene Shaw.

"It is pretty cool isn't it," she said. "What an amazing cast and you know lovely guys all of them, absolute sweethearts, in spite of their hardness and everything."

Speaking of co-stars Johnson and Elba, Statham reckons he's the leanest, biggest and hardest of the film's cast members.

"They huff and puff too much," he said. "They're just like old shire horses. I'm much leaner more effective sort of a… I have a different schedule. Difficult kind of training attack. Mine's way too, way too advanced but for the likes of Dwayne."

"Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw," directed by David Leitch ("Deadpool 2"), will be released worldwide on August 1st.

(Story includes material sourced from AP)