It’s been a long time coming, but F9 is finally about to hit theaters. After being delayed a year to accommodate the release of spin-off Hobbs and Shaw (much to the chagrin of the main cast) and then delayed another year to accommodate the COVID-19 pandemic, the ninth installment in the mainline Fast and Furious series is due to finally arrive in U.S. multiplexes in June.
Universal has confirmed that its high-octane action movie franchise will be coming to an end soon. F9 is kicking off a new trilogy that will conclude what has now been rebranded The Fast Saga with a grand total of 11 movies. According to director Justin Lin, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw could appear in the tenth and/or eleventh movies.
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After appearing in a backdoor pilot for their spin-off in the middle act of The Fate of the Furious, Johnson and Statham had to sit out F9 to star in Hobbs and Shaw. While a sequel to Hobbs and Shaw is in development, the duo could return to the main series, too. When Deadline asked Lin if Johnson and Statham could appear in Fast and Furious 10 or 11, the director said, “I never really considered them gone, you know? To me, they’re still in this universe; they’re part of this family.”
Although the tenth and eleventh Fast and Furious movies are planned as an Infinity War/Endgame-style two-part finale for the franchise, Lin’s vague language suggests the movies are still in the planning stage and their stories have yet to be written. Lin elaborated, “Whatever we do, whenever we’re talking about the next chapter, I never feel like I have any restrictions, so I’m excited for what we build, and as we’re coming to this kind of final chapter of this saga, I think I’m excited to revisit... any character, in any situation, is up for discussion.”
It’s no secret that Johnson and the rest of the Fast and Furious cast have experienced tensions in the past. Johnson posted on social media that some of his male co-stars are “candy asses,” while some of his Fast co-stars were miffed that he took Universal’s Fast and Furious spin-off offer and broke up the family after Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson turned down a similar offer years earlier. Production of Hobbs and Shaw meant that F9 had to be put on hold, which contributed further to the cast’s rivalries.
However, these tensions appear to have softened recently, as Vin Diesel praised Hobbs and Shaw and supported its release back in 2019. The success of Hobbs and Shaw has led to several other Fast and Furious movies going into development – including an untitled female-led Fast and Furious film – so, even after the primary series ends with Fast and Furious 11, fans can relax knowing the franchise will still be around for a while.
F9: The Fast Saga is scheduled to be released in theaters on June 25, 2021.
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Source: Deadline