Coronavirus Crisis Sets Back 'Fast & Furious 9' One Full Year

While the delay of Peter Rabbit 2 and A Quiet Place Part II were shocking enough, it looks as though the coronavirus has claimed its biggest Hollywood casualty yet: Fast & Furious 9.

The Hollywood Reporter posted the news just hours ago. F9 was set to premier this May, but now won't see theaters until April 2021-an almost full-year delay. That April date was previously reserved for what is supposedly to be the tenth and final installment of the Fast & Furious franchise.

Then the Fast & Furious Twitter account confirmed that it was true:

This is pretty shocking, as F9 could have very well become the highest-grossing movie of 2020. Its biggest rival was the 007 film No Time to Die-another movie that had its premiere date greatly set back (from April to November). In 2017, Fate of the Furious accrued $226 million domestically and $1.236 billion internationally, which made it the third-highest-grossing film of the year. And Furious 7 pulled in $353 million domestically and $1.515 billion internationally-currently the ninth-highest total of any movie ever on the global market.

The news of F9's delay came just as director John Krasinski confirmed that A Quiet Place Part II was being delayed indefinitely.

What may seem even crazier than major Hollywood films delaying their premieres...could the fact that other movies haven't followed suit-especially since one third of U.S. adults believe movie theaters should be closed. As of now, major movies like Bloodshot and Mulan are apparently embarking upon theaters amidst the coronavirus crisis. While Bloodshot hosted a red carpet premiere, Disney actually cancelled the European red carpet for Mulan -yet, as far as we know, plans for a wide international release haven't changed.

Now that what could end up being the year's biggest film has delayed its premiere, other major blockbusters may start to fall in line.

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