Jason Statham promises Hobbs and Shaw will be funny

Jason Statham is certain director David Leitch will balance funny scenes with intense action in Hobbs and Shaw.

The movie hard man is reprising his role of Deckard Shaw in the Fast & Furious spin-off, which also focuses on Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs.

Idris Elba and Vanessa Kirby have been added to the cast list, with rumours circulating that Helen Mirren will be back as Deckard's mother, after playing the role in 2017's The Fate of the Furious.

"We're trying to do something that isn't so goofy though. I know the last time (Helen) slapped me around the face and we got this little... We don't want to take it too seriously," Jason told Collider. "I'm not the director so I'm not the one controlling the tone of the movie but we want to have some meaningful stuff in it as well as the fun. At the end of the day, we want to have the laughs. We want to tear each other apart. We want to enjoy it. This has to be a ride. I guess you've got to have the whole package.

"I think Dave's aiming for that. He wants to have the raucous laughs, the funny s**t, the intense action and the great drama and the meaningful stuff."

Exclaiming that he's "f**king excited", Jason also praised Atomic Blonde filmmaker David, who started out as a stuntman, for his understanding of action scenes.

"He's really efficient and he really cares about the characters," the 51-year-old added.

Hobbs and Shaw is slated to hit cinemas next summer (19).