Fast and Furious 9 is set to hit theaters in June 2021, after several delays. However, early reviews of the action drama have already arrived.

The Fast and Furious series has been going strong for two decades, and now the car-centric franchise is entering its final sequel with a brand new adventure.

Fast & Furious began as a film about the culture of street racing but has since developed into a full action-adventure series featuring a motley crew of fascinating characters.

F9 will also mark the return of director Justin Lin to the franchise after a brief hiatus. He announced the movie was officially done in November 2020, acknowledging his crew for working through such extraordinary times with utmost dedication. 

So what can we expect from the movie? Let’s find out.

Official Release Date

In March 2020  it was announced that the much anticipated ninth installment in the wildly successful franchise will be postponed for an entire year, to April 2, 2021, in the UK and the US owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

"It's become clear that it won't be possible for all of our fans around the world to see the film this May," a declaration read. It also explained that while a longer wait was inconvenient, the decision was made with the welfare and safety of everyone in mind.

However, the release date was postponed once more, and Fast and Furious 9 was set for May 28, 2021. It was then delayed yet again to June 25, 2021, in the United States, where it is expected to remain. 

Fans in the United Kingdom will have to wait a few weeks longer, as the film will be released in theaters on July 8, 2021. 

On the other hand, Asian fans got lucky as Universal's F9 has already been released in China, South Korea, Russia, Hong Kong, and the Middle East. The movie was released a full five weeks before its domestic release on June 25, injecting some mega-muscle into the international box office landscape. 

The high-octane action film opened with a massive $162.4 million from a handful of international markets, notably $135.6 million from China alone.

The box office for F9 was as good as it had been before the pandemic, and it was Universal's best start in China since the last franchise film. It's also the biggest showing for a Hollywood film in the pandemic period.

Initial Fan Reactions


Trailer 

The spectacular first trailer of Fast & Furious 9 was released on January 31, 2020, and it teased a couple of big surprises for fans.

First, it was revealed that John Cena's villain character Jakob was Dom's brother, and then, at the very end of the trailer, Han, played by Sung Kang, reappeared. "Nice clubhouse," he remarks as he returns to Dom's life.

Although we still don't know how Han survived and how he will return, we learned more about Jakob Toretto and the challenge he posed in the second trailer, which was released on April 14, 2021.

Movie Plot

Dom's gang is re-assembled for a brand new adventure in the ninth installment of the main saga, and the tenth overall. This time, "La Familia" is pitted against Jakob, his and Mia's estranged brother, who is seeking vengeance for his older brother's betrayal.

Cipher, the cyber-terrorist villain from Fate of the Furious, is supporting the Toretto brother, making him even more dangerous. Han’s unanticipated reappearance following his Deckard Shaw-planned car crash in Tokyo is another intriguing plotline. Lin has assured that as director of Fast & Furious 9, he will eventually bring justice to the character’s story arc.

'F9' Cast

For the ninth installment, most of the main cast returned, including Vin Diesel as Dom, Michelle Rodriguez as Letty, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as Tej, and Tyrese Gibson as Roman. 

Nathalie Emmanuel will reprise her role as Ramsey, and Lucas Black will take his spot as Sean Boswell from Tokyo Drift after a quick appearance in Fast & Furious 7. 

Jordana Brewster returned as Dom's sister Mia, who is married to the late Paul Walker's character Brian, after missing the previous film.

Since Cody and his brother Caleb joined the cast to finish Brian's filming for Fast & Furious 7, Walker's brother Cody has been speaking about a future return for Brian, saying that "anything is possible."

His character was actually seen in the most recent teaser.

Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham are losing out this time after their spin-off film Hobbs & Shaw.