F9 has been revealed as the mystery blockbuster that will play at this year's Cannes film festival. The latest installment in the physics-defying Fast & Furious franchise is finally starting to debut around the world after being delayed from last year. Fast & Furious 9 has already become a financial success through its international rollout, which began a few weeks ago in China and other territories. In North America, F9 won't arrive until later this month, and many are hoping it will help further the box office recovery that has already begun with movies like A Quiet Place Part II and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.
F9 begins with Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) finally living the quiet life with his family, which includes his love Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and son Brian. However, the return of his long estranged brother Jakob (John Cena) threatens to disrupt everything Dom has fought for, leading to the ultimate showdown between Torettos. Anticipation is also high for the return of Han (Sung Kang), the fan favorite member of Dom's crew who was previously thought to be dead.
After being cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Cannes Film Festival will take place next month, from July 6 through 17. The official lineup was revealed last week, but one key film was left off: A "planetary blockbuster" that will play specially on the beach. Now, Variety has revealed F9 is the mystery tentpole that will make its French debut at Cannes. F9 will be shown in a special beachfront public screening that will be attended by locals and delegates alike. The cast will not attend the screening. F9 will then arrive in local theaters on July 14.
Though an adrenaline-pumping blockbuster like F9 might not be expected film festival fare, there have been more than a few major movies in the past that have made debuts on the festival circuit. For example, later this year, Dune will screen at the Venice Film Festival. F9's French arrival at Cannes further cements the idea that this franchise installment is a major cinematic event, and it helps reignite excitement in the big screen exhibition experience. Other highly-anticipated movies premiering at Cannes include Stillwater with Matt Damon and Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch.
F9 is one of the few blockbusters planning to debut in the coming weeks without a dual streaming release. Stars Diesel and Cena have repeatedly touted the movie as perfect for theaters, and F9's reviews have supported that. After a long year without many big screen spectacles, F9 is signaling a major return to normalcy for the entertainment industry, and it's doing so on an impressive global scale.
Source: Variety
