'Fast and Furious 9' Delayed to 2020; Tyrese Gibson Blames Dwayne Johnson
It's official. "Fast and Furious 9" won't make its 2019 theater date. Instead, the movie will be released in 2020 and it's still unclear if Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (Hobbs) will return to the franchise.
Universal confirmed that the theater date for "Fast and Furious 9" (FF9) is now on April 10, 2020. The action movie was originally set for an April 19, 2019 release.
The studio did not specifically cite the reason for pushing back FF9's date, but actor Tyrese Gibson (Roman Pearce) pinned the blame on his co-star.
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Following Universal's announcement, Gibson took to Instagram to throw shade at Johnson. Gibson alluded that his co-star caused the delay when Johnson made the movie's production all about him.
As it is, the "Fast and Furious" franchise has yet to confirm if Johnson signed on for the ninth installment. The "Moana" star, however, is reportedly also in talks to do a "Fast and Furious" spinoff centered on his character and Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw.
Gibson implied that Johnson is prioritizing his spinoff over FF9. The former model is not happy with the three-year wait and he's also not going to delete his post on the social media platform even if Johnson will call him out about it.
Meanwhile, it's no secret that there is tension on the "Fast and Furious" set. Johnson and star Vin Diesel (Dom Toretto) had a public fight right before the eighth installment ran in theaters. Fans speculate that this might also be the reason why Johnson could not confirm if he's going back for FF9.
"Fast and Furious" does not have the critical acclaim but over the franchise's 20 years of churning film after film, its box office clout grew bigger and bigger. The last film, "The Fate of the Furious," earned over $1.2 billion at the global box office.
The "Fast and Furious" franchise also features Charlize Theron (Cipher), Michelle Rodriguez (Letty), Kurt Russell (Mr. Nobody) and Helen Mirren (Magdalene).
