The next installment in Universal’s Fast & Furious franchise is being pushed back by a year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
F9 had been set to hit theaters around the globe in May. Now it will be released April 2, 2021, in the U.S., timed to a day-and-date global launch. The film is taking the spot previously reserved for the 10th and final installment in the main Fast & Franchise series.
In F9 Vin Diesel returns as Dom Toretto, as does Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz, alongside Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster and Helen Mirren. Michael Rooker joins the cast of the franchise in this installment. The movie also includes appearances from John Cena, playing Dom’s brother, Cardi B and Peaky Blinders star Finn Cole.
Fast franchise veteran Justin Lin directs.
The dramatic move came not long after director John Krasinski and Paramount announced early Thursday they are delaying the release of a A Quiet Place Part II because of the pandemic. Last week, MGM’s James Bond installment No Time to Die became the first Hollywood tentpole to shift gears amid the coronavirus, moving from April to November of this year. A handful of other films have also moved, including Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, as well as Paramount’s The Lovebirds and Blue Story.
F9 is the penultimate entry in the improbably successful series that launched with 2001’s The Fast and the Furious. With the success of last year’s Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, a number of spinoffs are virtually guaranteed for some time to come.
