Movies

'Fast And Furious 9' Started Shooting Yesterday, And The Cast Is Already Posting Set Photos

fast and furious 9 writer
By Ethan Anderton

Production on Fast and Furious 9 is now underway. Filming on the sequel started yesterday in London, complete with confirmation from several cast members who have already started posting videos and photos from the set.

Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, and Michelle Rodriguez all confirmed the start of production across the pond yesterday, and it seems Jordana Brewster is over there with everyone too. Check out the Fast and Furious 9 set photos below.

Vin Diesel posted this video to Instagram with co-star Michelle Rodriguez, who plays his wife Letty in the Fast and Furious franchise. The video came at the end of the first day of production, which Diesel said "feels like a miracle." And considering where this franchise started all the way back in 2001, it really is kind of amazing to see how big this film series has become.

When the first film debuted 18 years ago, it earned a respectable $144.5 million. That was enough to start a franchise, but 2 Fast 2 Furious and Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift saw diminishing returns. The franchise made a comeback with Fast and Furious, by bringing back both Paul Walker and Vin Diesel in the lead roles, and somehow the sequels kept getting more and more successful with Furious 7 raking in the highest gross in the franchise with $353 million in the US and $1.51 billion worldwide.

As for the last sequel, The Fate of the Furious wasn't quite as big, but it still raked in $226 million in the US and $1.23 billion worldwide. Will we see an uptick in the box office with Fast and Furious 9 since franchise favorite director Justin Lin is getting back behind the camera? We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, here's the other teases from the cast on Instagram, and a photo from Justin Lin signaling the start of production:

As for Jordana Brewster, she hasn't posted any images from the set, but Vin Diesel teased her return to the franchise back in October of 2017. Plus, she recently posted a photo enjoying herself in Hyde Park, London, so she seems to be waiting to join the rest of the gang on set. Perhaps her return is part of the improvement in female roles in the franchise, as demanded by Michelle Rodriguez. Either way, it'll be interesting to hear how they explain her presence after she was essentially retired along with the late Paul Walker at the end of Furious 7. But her character is Dom's sister after all, so she'll always have some concern for the danger that her family gets into.

One person who won't be returning to the franchise this time is Dwayne Johnson. Though his beef with Vin Diesel was squashed, there's likely still some tension that exists after Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw was pushed into production. That means Jason Statham's character Deckard Shaw won't be back this time either. But there's still hope for them to return in the future for Fast and Furious 10, which is intended to bring the main franchise to a close.

Fast and Furious 9 speeds into theaters on May 22, 2020.

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