[Editor’s note: The following post contains spoilers for “Hobbs & Shaw” and “Game of Thrones.”]
Anyone who is still going through “Game of Thrones” or is planning to watch the HBO fantasy series should stay clear of “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.” The action movie starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham features a mid-credits scene in which the biggest twist of the “Game of Thrones” series finale is spoiled without any warning.
The giant “Thrones” spoiler is delivered by Ryan Reynolds, cameoing in “Hobbs & Shaw” as a member of the CIA. Reynolds’ character, Locke, is the handler for Johnson’s Hobbs. In the mid-credits scene, Locke has killed a bunch of security guards and calls Hobbs to tell him that a deadly virus has been released into the world. Locke also takes some time to spoil “Thrones,” ripping the series to shreds over the relationship between Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). Locke lets it slip that John has sex with Daenerys, who happens to be his aunt, and then ends up killing her. Just like that, the “Thrones” ending is spoiled for all.
Spoiling one of the biggest franchises in all of television and film just a couple months after it ended is a bold move for “Hobbs & Shaw,” written by Drew Pearce and “Fast and Furious” franchise veteran Chris Morgan. The “Thrones” series finale became the most watched program in HBO’s history with 19.3 million viewers the night of (and a lot more since), but those blockbuster numbers don’t guarantee everyone checking out “Hobbs & Shaw” is up to speed on the big Daenerys twist.
The “Thrones” finale aired May 19, which means the mid-credits scene had to have been filmed quickly sometime afterward in order to get it edited into the “Hobbs & Shaw” August 6 theatrical cut. The Daenerys twist caused an outcry of responses from “Thrones” fans during the episode’s airing. Many viewers were left outraged by how quickly the show turned Daenerys into its primary villain. Even Daenerys actress Emilia Clarke said it was hard to process her character’s demise. “It was a fucking struggle reading the scripts,” Clarke told Entertainment Weekly about the finale script.
“Hobbs & Shaw” is now playing in theaters nationwide from Universal Pictures.
