"The Director" Villain Voice Explained

One of the biggest mysteries in Hobbs & Shaw is who voices the movie’s real villain. Hobbs & Shaw is the ninth movie in the Fast & Furious franchise and is a spinoff of the main series. Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham reprise their roles as Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw, respectively. The movie follows Hobbs and Shaw as they fight Brixton (Idris Elba), a cybergenetically-enhanced criminal who wants to recover a deadly virus stolen by Shaw’s sister, Hattie (Vanessa Kirby).

There’s more than one villain in Hobbs & Shaw. Brixton was just the villain audiences were most familiar with, but was really a pawn of the real Hobbs & Shaw villain— known as The Director. It’s revealed early in the movie that Brixton works for a shadowy organization known as Eteon, and reports regularly to a faceless entity referred to only as The Director. When Brixton and the Director have scenes together, the latter’s voice is processed and distorted, making it tough to figure out their real identity. Ryan Reynolds — who makes a separate surprise appearance in Hobbs & Shaw — provided the voice, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that his character is the Director.

Why Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto Isn’t In Hobbs & Shaw

The reason for Vin Diesel’s absence as Dom Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise spinoff Hobbs & Shaw, starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham.

The Director In Hobbs & Shaw Explained

The Mysterious Villain Is A High-Ranking Eteon Member

Brixton may be the front-facing villain in Hobbs & Shaw but there’s a second villain at work here. Throughout the movie, Brixton reports to an unseen person only known as “The Director.” The Director is the real puppetmaster here, as they make Brixton do their bidding on behalf of Eteon. Based on their title, we know The Director is high up in the ranks of Eteon and is an influential force within the far-reaching and formidable organization. This means they have access to far more technology, weapons, and allies than Hobbs and Shaw. This will be a big problem if and when they show up again if a sequel happens.

There are two notable features about The Director established in Hobbs & Shaw. The first is that their voice is heavily processed, causing it to sound distorted and unrecognizable. It’s likely that Brixton didn’t even know who he was dealing with during his time with Eteon. It’s also known that The Director has a history with Hobbs.

This is revealed in one of the last scenes in Hobbs & Shaw when The Director manages to hack into a downed helicopter’s communications system and inform Hobbs and Shaw this isn’t the last time they’ll hear from the Eteon leader. What’s interesting is that Hobbs doesn’t seem to immediately know who The Director is. Even with the hint, the implication based on Hobbs’ reaction is that The Director’s identity is going to be a shock and could very well be a character already introduced in the Fast & Furious franchise.

An image of Vin Diesel as Dom Toretto and the cast of The Fast and Furious movie

Fast 11: Cast, Story & Everything We Know About The Fast & Furious Movie

Fast X is the beginning of the end for the Fast & Furious franchise. What are the cast, story, and release date for the upcoming Fast X Part 2?

Is Keanu Reeves The Director In Hobbs & Shaw?

The Director Would Be A Prime Way To Bring The John Wick Star Into The Fast & Furious Franchise

For a short time, it was believed Keanu Reeves had a major Hobbs & Shaw role. Given Reeves’ phenomenal success with the John Wick franchise, it’s not surprising a high-octane movie like Hobbs & Shaw would have tapped the actor for a key role. It also made sense Reeves could have been involved in Hobbs & Shaw given his connection to director David Leitch. Previously, Leith worked with Reeves in an uncredited directorial role on the first John Wick movie.

However, Reeves’ alleged Hobbs & Shaw role was debunked in June 2019. There’s always the possibility Reeves was meant to be in the movie and plans about his character changed, but it’s tough to know without more information. Even though Reeves didn’t show for this spinoff, Dwayne Johnson confirmed in an interview that he was texting with the John Wick actor. Details on the nature of their conversations were not mentioned, but Reeves could still come aboard a Hobbs & Shaw sequel (should it be greenlit) and he could play The Director.

The Rock Explains What Keanu Reeves’ Hobbs & Shaw Role Would Have Been

Dwayne Johnson explains what Keanu Reeves’ role in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw would’ve been, and why things didn’t work out.

Ryan Reynolds Is Connected To The Director In Hobbs & Shaw

The Deadpool Star Made A Suprising Cameo Appearance

A little bit of sleuthing reveals Ryan Reynolds is the voice of the Eteon Director in Hobbs & Shaw. Technically, the actor credited with voicing the Eteon Director is a “Champ Nightengale.” Hobbs & Shaw is Nightengale’s only credit to date. A quick search on Nightengale’s name brings up results leading right back to Reynolds. Per Insider, the name “Champ Nightengale” was used by the actor to write a funny fake review for Aviation Gin, which Reynolds owns.

Reynolds actually does double duty in Hobbs & Shaw. Not only does he voice the Eteon Director, but he also has a cameo as Locke, a former colleague of Hobbs’. Locke arrives on the scene to tell Hobbs about the stolen virus and sends him to London to team up with Shaw. He appears to be very friendly and seems to genuinely prize his friendship with Hobbs. But just because Locke has a solid rapport with Hobbs, it doesn’t mean he can’t also be the Eteon Director.

At the end of the movie, the Eteon Director mentions having a history with Hobbs, which matches pretty well with his past with Locke. Additionally, Hobbs doesn’t consider Locke to be much of a friend, so it’s possible there’s a darker history with these two which would motivate Locke to go after Hobbs. Even if a Hobbs & Shaw sequel does happen, it’s still unclear if Locke would be revealed as The Director even though the characters are played by the same actor. Locke has the motivation, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s definitely The Director.

Hobbs & Shaw’s Biggest Surprise Cameo Explained

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw features a few surprising cameos from major movie stars. Here’s why [SPOILER] is included in the cast.

The Director Will Be Hobbs & Shaw’s Ongoing Villain

If The Duo Return For Another Spin-Off Eteon Will Be A Significant Factor

Brixton may not return for a future Hobbs & Shaw sequel, but The Director certainly would. In a scene reminiscent of Alita: Battle Angel, wherein Edward Norton’s all-seeing character Nova is watching over the action from Zalem, the final moments of the movie confirm The Director is an all-seeing presence who isn’t done with Hobbs and Shaw just yet. Their final exchange with the titular duo confirms not only a shared history with Hobbs but also The Director’s intentions to return.

Having voiced a desire to recruit Hobbs and Shaw for Eteon (a scene that recalls Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, which saw Palpatine wanting to turn Luke to the Dark Side), it doesn’t seem like they’re willing to back down on this any time soon. It sounds like The Director will just try to kill them if Hobbs and Shaw can’t be recruited, raising the stakes even further for the pair in the next movie.

Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) looking angry with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) looking unimpressed in Fast & Furious

10 Most Exciting Things To Expect From Fast 11

Fast & Furious 11 will pull all the strings to become bigger than the previous installments, and here is why the film is worth being excited about.

What We Know About Hobbs & Shaw 2

Despite Being Confirmed The Sequel Has An Uncertain Future

Hobbs and Shaw 2 was confirmed in 2021 — however, there’s been little news on the sequel to the Fast & Furious spinoff since then, despite Dwayne Johnson returning in Fast X. While there’s been no official announcement that the Hobbs and Shaw sequel has been canceled, the current upcoming projects that have been announced since 2021 in the Fast & Furious franchise seem to indicate that the story may be going in a different direction. What this means for the mysterious Director is also uncertain.

In mid-2023, Dwayne Johnson confirmed that he was working on a Hobbs solo movie. While this isn’t the Hobbs and Shaw 2 many fans may have been hoping for, it does present an opportunity for The Director and Eteon to be explored in more detail. It’s already been revealed in the first movie that both Eteon and The Director have a prior connection to Hobbs, so a solo Hobbs movie would be a prime candidate to flesh out this particular corner of the Fast & Furious universe rather than the upcoming Fast 11.

Plus, if either Keanu Reeves or Ryan Reynolds ends up playing the director, the cast would have some serious star-power attached to it, and either would ensure the solo Hobbs movie was a worthy follow-on from Hobbs and Shaw.