After MGM decided to move its James Bond film No Time To Die to April 2, 2021, the same day was the release date of the latest installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise. Universal announced on Friday that they would move their film’s release date to May 28, 2021, so now the film will have to wait a little while longer before it can do a few laps in the theater.
In March, the original release date of F9 was May 22, 2020, but was pushed back amid coronavirus lockdown. Interestingly enough, April 2021 date was reserved for Fast and the Furious 10. The Fast and Furious franchise is crucial to Universal with its numerous sequels and spinoffs. They are among the highest-grossing movies that they have. Since the move of No Time To Die, it was inevitable that F9 would be moved given that both films were moved to the same weekend and need overseas audiences since the U.S. biggest markets in New York and Los Angeles are still closed.
The new release date of F9 now puts it in already filled spots with Disney’s live-action Cruella starring Emma Stone as Cruella and the Paramount Mark Wahlberg movie Infinite.
Justin Lin returns as director of F9 with a cast that includes Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, Cardi B, and Ozuna.
The entire franchise, including the spinoff Hobbs & Shaw through nine movies, generated $5.9 billion at the worldwide box office.