'Fast and Furious 9' release date news: Pushed back a year; opens April 10, 2020

"Fast and Furious 8" promotional photo. Facebook/ FastandFurious

Fans of the "Fast and Furious" franchise will be sad to know that the highly anticipated next installment of the film series, "Fast and Furious 9" has been pushed back to spring 2020.

The movie was originally set for an April 19, 2019 release, but now the premiere date has been moved to a year later in April 10, 2020. Most of the stars of the franchise will be returning for the sequel.

It is not yet clear if "Furious 10," which has been scheduled for release on April 2, 2021, will be rescheduled as well.

As speculated by many, the franchise will be releasing a spin-off film starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and "Jason Statham." This movie is slated to be released on July 26, 2019.

Johnson himself announced the spin-off film on Instagram, saying he is "Pumped to expand and build out the FAST & FURIOUS universe in a cool, exciting way."

Johnson noted that he has utmost respect for the franchise and his goal for making a spin-off is to generate amazing opportunities for his fellow actors and create new content for the fans. He called this smart business.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for this franchise that I've enjoyed droppin' blood and sweat in over the years," the actor continued on the post. "My vision is to create greater opportunities for not only my fellow FF cast mates, but for other amazing actors as well who want to be a part of something new and cool."

The former professional wrestler said he wants to use the spin-off as a platform to create new characters in the "Fast and Furious" universe that fans will be able to enjoy in various platforms and multiple chapters. Johnson sees the film's universe expanding to other medium like television and virtual reality. "The more opportunities we can create the better for the fans," he said.

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