Fast & Furious 9 pushed to June 25; A Quiet Place Part II release moved up to May

The entertainment industry was one of the most adversely hit industries across the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While production of several films was stalled, a large number of films were delayed owing to the lockdowns and complete shut down of cinema halls. A year after, even though theaters have reopened, the release of big-budget films seems uncertain. 

The ninth installment in the “Fast & Furious” action franchise will hit the theatres on June 25. “F9” was originally scheduled to release globally in May, 2020, but Universal Pictures pushed the project to April 2, 2021 and then to Memorial Day, May 28, 2021, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Action star Vin Diesel shared the new release date of the film via teaser he posted on Instagram. “Finally! Blessed and grateful,” he captioned the clip.

Directed by Justin Lin, “F9” also features WWE wrestler-turned-actor John Cena, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren, and Charlize Theron.

Meanwhile, Universal has also delayed “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” the fifth installment in the “Despicable Me” franchise. The animated family film, which was set to open on July 2, 2021, will now release theatrically on July 1, 2022.

Also, actor-filmmaker John Krasinski on Friday announced that his much-anticipated horror thriller “A Quiet Place: Part II” will now hit the theatres on May 28. The film, directed by Krasinski and starring Emily Blunt, was originally scheduled to open in the US on March 20 last year but the plans were derailed by the pandemic.

Paramount Pictures had then fixed a September 17, 2021 release for the movie.

“They always say good things come to those who wait. Well. I think we’ve waited long enough. A QUIET PLACE PART II. MEMORIAL DAY,” Krasinski wrote on Twitter.

“A Quiet Place Part II” begins almost immediately after the end of 2018’s “A Quiet Place”, and follows Evelyn Abbot (Blunt), her baby, and two older children — Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and Marcus (Noah Jupe) — as they try to survive in a world overrun by sound-sensitive creatures.

The movie also features actors Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou.

–with inputs from PTI