Universal Pictures has announced that
Fast & Furious 9 has been pushed back an entire year from its original May 22 release date to April 2, 2021 due to the currently ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The April 2nd date had previously been reserved for
Fast & Furious 10, so it appears that sequel (tenthquel?) will now be pushed to 2022.
With theaters still closed in China, Italy and South Korea and the growing sense that theaters will soon be closed in the United States as well, the studio felt the need to accelerate their decision to push back the film as they did not believe they would be able to make a profit on
F9, which
carries a production cost exceeding $200 million, with potentially thousands of theaters closed across the globe in May.
Additionally, along with
moving John Krasinski's
A Quiet Place Part II off the release calendar, Paramount Pictures has also indefinitely delayed both
The Lovebirds, which was a romantic comedy starring Kumail Nanjiani (
The Eternals) and Issa Rae (
Insecure),
and the Rapman-directed crime drama
Blue Story, which was slated for a limited release next week.
F9 is arguably the biggest film to shift release dates, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, thus far and joins a growing list of delayed titles, including the three aforementioned Paramount titles, MGM and United Artists'
No Time to Die, Sony Pictures'
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway and Akshay Kumar's
Sooryavanshi.
All eyes now seemingly shift over to Walt Disney Studios, who have big decisions to make with
Mulan (March 27),
The New Mutants (April 3) and Marvel Studios'
Black Widow (May 1) all coming within the next few weeks; and Warner Bros. Pictures, who have
Scoob! (May 15)
and
Wonder Woman 1984 (June 5) scheduled for release in the same time frame.
To our family of Fast fans everywhere,
We feel all the love and the anticipation you have for the next chapter in our saga.
That’s why it’s especially tough to let you know that we have to move the release date of the film. It’s become clear that it won’t be possible for all of our fans around the world to see the film this May.
We are moving the global release date to April 2021, with North America opening on April 2. While we know there is disappointment in having to wait a little while longer, this move is made with the safety of everyone as our foremost consideration.
Moving will allow our global family to experience our new chapter together. We’ll see you next spring.
Much love,
Your Fast Family
Summer 2020 is the time for F9, the ninth chapter in The Fast Saga that has endured for almost two decades and has earned more than $5 billion around the world. Directed by Justin Lin, who helmed the third, fourth, fifth and sixth chapters of the series when it transformed into a global blockbuster, the film stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Oscar®winner Charlize Theron and Oscar® winner Helen Mirren. F9 is produced by Neal H. Moritz, Vin Diesel, Jeff Kirschenbaum, Joe Roth, Justin Lin, Clayton Townsend and Samantha Vincent
F9 features:
Director: Justin Lin
Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto
Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz
Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce
Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Tej Parker
Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto
Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey
Sung Kang as Han Lue
John Cena as Jakob Toretto
Helen Mirren as Magdalene Shaw
Charlize Theron as Cipher
Lucas Black as Sean Boswell
Bow Wow as Twinkie
Jason Tobin as Earl Hu
Cardi B as Leysa
Anna Sawai as Elle
Michael Rooker as Buddy
Finn Cole in an undisclosed role
Vinnie Bennett in an undisclosed role
Ozuna in an undisclosed role
Francis Ngannou in an undisclosed role
F9 races into theaters April 2, 2021