Following a seven-year hiatus, director and all-around franchise mainstay Justin Lin has returned to Fast & Furious for what he describes as “the most ambitious” entry in Universal’s gear-grinding series.
That’s quite the declaration, given next summer sees the release of Fast & Furious 9. Nine movies! And that’s not even counting the recently-released Hobbs & Shaw spinoff.
But for all of the weight that the Fast & Furious brand carries, Justin Lin has clearly emerged from production with a smile on his face, taking to Twitter to announce that filming on Fast & Furious 9 has now wrapped ahead of its primetime launch in May of 2020. Oh, and he even went so far as to say that this is “by far the most ambitious film of the series,” before thanking his global crew for their tireless work across London, Edinburgh, Phuket, Krabi, Tbilisi, Los Angeles… and space?
Even if it falls short of Lin’s estimation, Fast & Furious 9 will still be a globe-trotting adventure. See for yourself:
It’s an official #F9 Wrap! This is by far the most ambitious film of the series and I am forever grateful to our amazing crew from London, Edinburgh, Tbilisi (Georgia), Phuket & Krabi (Thailand), and Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/ggFGxwHuz7
— Justin Lin (@justinlin) November 11, 2019
Adding a little extra spice to the Torreto mix this time around are Finn Cole, Anna Sawai, Vinnie Bennett, Guardians of the Galaxy star Michael Rooker and John Cena, who may or may not be taking on the role of Dom’s long-lost brother. If true, it would certainly throw a greasy spanner in the workings of this billion-dollar franchise – from a storytelling perspective, at least – and may well serve as the beginning of Universal’s planned two-part finale. Of course, that’s just conjecture for now, but with filming now complete, the latest Fast movie just entered the home stretch ahead of its release next year.
Speaking of which, Universal has slated Fast & Furious 9 for global release on May 22nd, 2020.