F9

F9 (alternatively known as Fast & Furious 9) is an upcoming American action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Daniel Casey. A sequel to 2017's The Fate of the Furious, it will be the ninth main installment in The Fast Saga and the tenth full-length film released overall. It is the first film in the franchise since 2003's 2 Fast 2 Furious to not be written or co-written by Chris Morgan and the first film since 2013's Fast & Furious 6 to be directed by Lin. The film will star Vin Diesel, John Cena, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren, and Charlize Theron. In the film, Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and his family must face a new, deadlier enemy in the form of Jakob (Cena), Dominic's younger brother, as well as their old threat Cipher (Theron).

Originally scheduled for a 2020 release, the film's general release has been rescheduled to April 2, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Premise
After the events of The Fate of the Furious (2017), Dominic Toretto and his family must face Dominic's younger brother Jakob, a deadly assassin, who is working with their old enemy Cipher, and who holds a personal vendetta against Dominic.

Cast

 * Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, a former criminal and professional street racer who has retired and settled down with his wife, Letty and his son.
 * Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz, Dom's wife, and a former criminal and professional street racer.
 * Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce, an ex-habitual offender and a member of Dom's team.
 * Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Tej Parker, a mechanic from Miami and a member of Dom's team.
 * John Cena as Jakob Toretto, Dom and Mia's brother who is working as a master thief, assassin and a high-performance driver.
 * Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto, Dom and Jakob's younger sister and a former member of his team who has settled down with her partner, Brian, and their two children.
 * Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey, a British computer hacktivist and a member of Dom's team.
 * Sung Kang as Han Lue, a former member of Dom's team who was believed to have been killed.
 * Helen Mirren as Magdalene Shaw
 * Charlize Theron as Cipher, a criminal mastermind, and cyberterrorist who teams up with Jakob.

Lucas Black reprises his role as Sean Boswell, a friend of Han and Dom, from 2006's The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and 2015's Furious 7, while Bow Wow and Jason Tobin also reprise their roles from Tokyo Drift as Sean and Han's friends Twinkie and Earl Hu, respectively. Cardi B portrays Leysa, a woman who shares a history with Dom; Anna Sawai portrays Elle; Michael Rooker was cast as Buddy. Additionally, Finn Cole, Vinnie Bennett, Ozuna, and Francis Ngannou have been cast in undisclosed roles.

Development
On November 13, 2014, Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley told The Hollywood Reporter that there would be at least three more films in the franchise after Furious 7 (2015). In February 2016, Vin Diesel announced initial release dates for the ninth and tenth films, with the ninth film initially set to be released on April 19, 2019. After the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw was announced, the release date for the ninth film was pushed back to April 10, 2020.

In April 2017, Diesel and Dwayne Johnson confirmed their returns. On October 25, 2017, Diesel revealed in a Facebook live video that Justin Lin, who directed from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) through Fast & Furious 6 (2013), and actress Jordana Brewster, who portrayed Mia Toretto in five of the franchise's films, would be returning for the ninth and tenth films. On April 4, 2018, Johnson stated that he was unsure if he was returning for the ninth film due to working on the spin-off, and he confirmed in January 2019 that he would not be appearing in the film.

In May 2018, Daniel Casey was hired to write the screenplay after Morgan left due to his work on the Hobbs and Shaw spinoff film. Michelle Rodriguez was also confirmed to reprise her role. In February 2019, Universal Pictures announced that it was delaying the film by six weeks which would shift the release date from April 2020 to May 2020. It was reported that the delay was so that the film would not compete with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's No Time to Die, which was given a release date of April 8, 2020.

In June 2019, John Cena was officially cast in the film, after an initial announcement from Diesel in April. In July 2019, Finn Cole, Anna Sawai and Vinnie Bennett joined the cast of the film. That same month, it was announced Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron would reprise their roles. Michael Rooker and MMA Fighter Francis Ngannou were added to the cast in August. In October 2019, Ozuna and Cardi B joined the cast of the film.

Filming
Principal photography began on June 24, 2019, at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, England. Filming took place in Los Angeles, Edinburgh and London, and also took place in Thailand for the first time, with Krabi, Ko Pha-ngan and Phuket used as locations. Part of the film was also shot in Tbilisi, Georgia. Filming wrapped on November 11, 2019.

In July 2019, stuntman Joe Watts, who doubled for Diesel, sustained a serious head injury during filming at Leavesden Studios.

Release
F9 was originally scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on May 22, 2020 by Universal Pictures, but on March 12, the film was pushed back a year to April 2, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marketing
The first official trailer for the film was released on January 31, 2020.