'Fast and Furious 9' Pushed Back a Year to Spring 2020

The ninth installment in Universal's high-octane Fast and the Furious franchise is being pushed back a year, the studio said Wednesday.

The movie, which doesn't yet have a director, was to have raced into theaters on April 19, 2019. It will now open April 10, 2020, which is Easter weekend. Many of the franchise stars are returning, led by Vin Diesel. It is unclear whether Dwayne Johnson will return.

Earlier this year, Fate of the Furious, the eighth installment, boasted the biggest global launch of all time on its way to earning $1.238 billion worldwide. The main franchise continues with Furious 9 and then Furious 10, which has a release date of April 2, 2021. It's unclear whether Furious 10 will be rescheduled.

Following the release of Fate of the Furious, Universal began plotting a Fast and Furious spinoff with Johnson and Jason Statham. It's possible the spinoff could be released in 2019.

In addition to the Fast 9 news, Universal and DreamWorks Animation announced that Trolls 2 will move up from April 10, 2020, to Feb. 14, 2020, and that Walt Dohrn is returning to helm the follow-up, while Gina Shay will once again produce. (Dohrn co-directed 2016's Trolls with Mike Mitchell.)