Fast and Furious 9 has been delayed a year amid Coronavirus fears.
The movie was scheduled to be released in the United States on May 22, 2020, but the sequel has been pushed back until April 2021. Vin Diesel – who plays the series protagonist Dom Toretto – made the announcement on social media.
“We feel all the love and the anticipation you have for the next chapter in our saga,” he wrote. “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."
He added: "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."
#F9 pic.twitter.com/agQAFNLm9wMarch 12, 2020
The Fast and Furious franchise relies heavily on the Asian box-office. Due to Corona, cinemas in China, Japan, and other countries have been closed. The news follows the delay of A Quiet Place 2, which has been pushed back inevitably due to the spread of Coronavirus.
Other films that have been delayed due to the spread of Coronavirus include No Time to Die, Peter Rabbit 2, and Greyhound. Meanwhile, filming on the next Mission Impossible has been halted in Italy, and Tom Hanks' contracting the virus has lead to production being stopped on Baz Luhrmann's Elvis biopic.
Fast and Furious 9, officially titled F9, will be the second part in the "last trilogy to end the saga". And if that's not already confusing enough, Diesel has suggested that Fast and Furious 10 could be split into two parts.
“I started planning for Fast 10 before we started filming Fast 9. Very much so,” Diesel told our sister publication Total Film earlier this year. “The universe is so robust and so rich with talent and rich with story that, on one level, it’s totally feasible to have spinoffs, and I think that’s something that is inevitable. Universal deserves it because of how much they’ve invested in this little saga, and it’d be good to give back to Universal. And for the fans, should Fast 10 parts one and two be the conclusion, it would be nice for this world to continue for generations to come.”
