LOS ANGELES: Twenty years after the first film premiered, “Fast and Furious 9” is finally coming out in theaters — and fans of the high-octane franchise can expect the usual high-speed thrills, lead star Vin Diesel told Arab News.
The release of the newest installment of the film series was delayed five times, at first to avoid competing with other films and later due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When we were filming in London in 2019, we had no idea (of) the year that was to come,” Diesel told Arab News. “We had no idea that we would be all isolated from one another. We had no idea how much we missed a movie like this that brings people together, that we can all look up on the screen and see a part of ourselves on the screen as a part of a global family.”
“Fast and Furious 9” sees criminal-turned-hero Dominic Toretto take a break from the fast lane as he cares for his young son. But action speeds back into his life with the return of his long-forgotten brother, a skilled assassin who is out for revenge.
“We’ve grown accustomed to accepting the fact that family and brotherhood is everything for Dom,” Diesel explained. “His mantra is ‘never turn your back on family’ and yet when he becomes a father, he has to take a closer look into his past, to a broken brotherhood.”
Wrestler John Cena joins the cast as the film’s chief antagonist, Jakob Toretto, while Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren will reprise their roles from the 2017 and 2019 films, respectively.
They are joined by franchise mainstays Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang and Tyrese Gibson.
The series is set to end after two more movies, but the producers are planning something that could be exciting for fans in the Middle East.
“All last week, I was working with (director) Justin Lin about ‘Fast 10’ and the Middle East, the return to the Middle East, came up in our discussions,” Diesel hinted.
Lin elaborated, saying: “The Middle East has some of the most loyal and amazing fans so that kind of started us talking about, in this final chapter if we’re looking for to reengage, where do we want to take the story? So, there’s a lot of talk and it was very organic and I’m very excited.”