10 Facts About Fast & Furious 9 That’ll be in Cinema Next Month

We’ve been hearing about this movie as far back as 2017, when the cast was slowly being revealed. Till now, everyone’s been dying to see this movie, the ninth in the Fast & Furious franchise. 

Well folks, looks like the long wait is finally over—Fast & Furious 9, or better known simply as F9, will be coming to the cinemas next month on 26 May.

Now, as one of the movies leading up to the big finale of the entire Fast & Furious saga, this movie has been creating a lot of buzz, especially when the trailer was first released back in February 2020. 

Let’s just say, there were many, many huge reveals. 

So, let’s take a look at 10 facts about the long-anticipated Fast & Furious 9.

F9 Features a Star Cast 

The first thing that’s pretty obvious is that the cast is pretty much filled with well-known faces.

With most of the cast from the previous Fast & Furious movies returning, one can expect to see the familiar faces of Vin Diesel, Michelle Rordriguez, and Nathalie Emmanuel—you might recognise her from Game of Thrones. 

Even Oscar-winning actress Dame Helen Mirren is on the cast list. 

The list doesn’t just end there: F9 introduces Dominic “Dom” Toretto’s younger brother, Jakob Toretto, who will be played by famous WWE wrestler–turned–actor John Cena. 

Other names also include Cardi B and Michael Rooker, who played the character of Yondu in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. 

Let’s hope his character meets a better end this time.

No Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham 

Luke Hobbs (played by Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (played by Jason Statham), the main characters of the Fast & Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw, will unfortunately not be making an appearance in F9.

However, Dwayne Johnson’s return to the upcoming Fast & Furious 10 has been teased by both Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson himself, with the former posting of them both on Instagram with the caption that he is “excited for what’s coming”.

Fans can also look forward to Hobbs & Shaw 2, the sequel to the first movie.

Postponed Multiple Times 

F9 is currently scheduled to be released in Singapore on 26 May, and in the US on 25 June.

But did you know? The film’s very first scheduled date of release in the US was 19 April 2019. 

Yep, two years ago. 

After that, the release date was changed to 10 April 2020. Then again to 22 May 2020. 

If you’re asking why, it’s supposedly because it was shoved back for Hobbs & Shaw, which was released on 13 July 2019. 

That’s it, this has to be the final date, you think. And just when you think you’re finally going to get to see the movie—  

Lo and behold: hello, COVID-19. 

So F9 was rescheduled again to be released on 2 April 2021, and then further delayed to 28 May 2021. Finally, they settled on the current confirmed date of 25 June 2021. 

Geez, talk about a long wait. 

Director is an Alumni of the Fast & Furious Movies

It has been revealed that the director of F9 is Justin Lin, who has previously directed four movies from the franchise: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Fast & Furious 6. He was also offered the chance to direct Furious 7, but he turned them down.  

His other works also include the indie film Better Luck Tomorrow and Star Trek Beyond. 

The Asian-American director will also be directing the sequel to F9, Fast & Furious 10. 

Dom Has a Brother

If you didn’t already know, in this movie Dom and his crew go against his younger brother Jakob Toretto, who is a “master thief, assassin and high-performance driver”.

He also seems to be working for, or with, returning antagonist Cipher. 

In the trailer, Jakob and Dom face off in several shots: in one scene, Dom tackles Jakob out of a building. In another scene, he tackles Jakob mid-air into a building. Jakob’s later shown to smash Dom through a wall. In the next scene, the two brothers hold each other at gunpoint. 

Now that’s one intense family feud. 

Faithful followers of the Fast & Furious franchise would know that there is nothing that Dom prizes more than family. As Jakob accuses Dom in one scene, “you always say ‘never turn your back on family’. But you turned your back on me.” This then begs the question: what exactly happened for them to become so estranged?

The trailers hint that perhaps an inferiority complex might be involved, as Jakob snarls at Dom that he is “tired of living in [his] shadow.”

Ah, the classic.  

Back From the Dead?

The official trailer released on 1 February 2020 caused a huge uproar when a shot at the very end showed Han seemingly returning from the dead. 

The character of Han Seoul-Oh, played by Sung Kang, was a supporting character who was introduced in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and quickly became a fan favourite. In fact, the character of Han was so popular that producers changed the timeline of the next three movies just to bring him back into the franchise. 

So in case you didn’t know, even though the subsequent three movies were released after Tokyo Drift, the events of these movies actually take place before Tokyo Drift.  

That being the case, it doesn’t change the fact that Han was supposed to have died in the very same movie he was introduced in. In The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Han’s car had been T-boned by another in the midst of a car chase, and was flipped onto its top. The car later exploded with Han still trapped in it. 

Heck, they even had a funeral and all that! 

Yet somehow, it seems like they’ve managed to bring him back, as Han is seen at the end of the trailer casually strolling in with a cheeky “Nice clubhouse” to the present crew. 

Vin diesel’s Son to Make an Appearance

10-year-old Vincent Sinclair has followed in his father’s footsteps to join the Fast family, as he makes his big-screen debut in the upcoming F9. 

According to CNA, he reportedly plays the younger version of his father’s character, Dominic Toretto in the movie. 

The proud father had posted an Instagram post that hinted at his son’s involvement in the movie back in November 2019, when his son had finished filming his scenes.  

The Gang is Going to Space

Look, it’s a flying rocket car!

No seriously. I’m not even kidding, it was really shown in the trailers. 

“Please tell me that’s not a Pontiac Fiero, strapped to a rocket engine,” says Tej Parker in the first official trailer, while he and Roman Pearce stare in sheer disbelief at the contraption before them. 

Same dude, same.

In the second official trailer, the two of them are shown to be wearing spacesuits (with the occasional duct tape here and there) as they ride in said Fiero strapped to a rocket engine, while flying through the air. 

Ah, my mistake. I meant falling through the air.  

This concept of going to space has in fact been teased by a few actors and writers of the show, such as Ludacris and Michelle Rodriguez. 

If you think that the Fast & Furious franchise is all about cars driving around on roads, well think again. 

Mia Toretto to Return 

The list of things to be excited about in F9 just never seems to end. 

Played by Jordana Brewster, Mia Toretto – younger sister of Dom and Jakob Toretto – will be returning to the Fast & Furious franchise.

In the upcoming movie’s prequel, The Fate of the Furious, the characters of both Mia Toretto and Brian O’ Conner make no appearance. In fact, the other characters mention their promise to the couple that they would not be involved in any of the crew’s activities, presumably to ensure a peaceful and safe life for the couple’s two children. 

This makes Mia’s return to the screen all the more exciting.

Mysterious Cameo?

Seems like there are more surprises in store for fans of the franchise, as Fast & Furious star Vin Diesel promises a “big surprise” for fans, teasing a cameo from yet another big-name that has yet to be revealed. 

Dying of curiosity? Want to know who this mysterious person is?

Then watch the film when it comes out in theatres on 26 May!

Featured Image: Youtube (The Fast Saga)