A new Fast & Furious 9 cast photo adds John Cena to the family, alongside series regulars Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez. Released in 2001, the original Fast and the Furious looked like just another standard action movie. No one could've predicted that the racing movie would spawn one of the world’s biggest franchises, but that's exactly what's happened. After eight movies, Fast & Furious has now generated $5.1 billion globally, and the new spinoff Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is expected to add hundreds of millions more to that tally.
With Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham off doing their own Hobbs & Shaw film, and Idris Elba along for the ride, the main Fast & Furious line continues with Vin Diesel still on board. Shooting on the ninth Fast & Furious film is already underway, with Justin Lin in the director’s chair. Recently, it was revealed that Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren are both set to return for the latest entry in the blockbuster franchise. In June, John Cena was added to the movie’s cast to fill the former pro wrestler void left by Johnson’s absence.
With filming underway, Fast & Furious 9 star Nathalie Emmanuel shared the first cast photo to feature new addition Cena. Emmanuel posted the image, which also features Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese, Ludacris and Justin Lin, to Instagram on the occasion of co-star Michelle Rodriguez’s birthday. See the image in the space below:
Everything looks happy and friendly in the above photo, but Fast & Furious 9 only came together after a fair amount of controversy and strife. Prior entries in the series were of course dogged by stories of Diesel not getting along with Johnson, to the point where the two actually refused to be together on set at the same time. When Hobbs & Shaw was announced with Johnson and Statham and not Diesel, many were led to believe Universal was moving on from the main franchise - and Diesel - to put its money behind Johnson. Later, it seemed Rodriguez might exit the franchise as well, but the actress was convinced to return after a female writer was added to the production.
As the above image attests, any issues that may have existed behind the scenes for the Fast & Furious family have been smoothed out, allowing Fast & Furious 9 to move forward. Even without Johnson and Statham, the movie’s cast remains very impressive, with Cena joining series regulars Diesel, Tyrese, Ludacris and Brewster, and Theron and Mirren returning. With Hobbs & Shaw coming, and Fast & Furious 9 happening as well, it’s safe to say fans of the long-running action franchise have a lot to look forward to.
Source: Nathalie Emmanuel/Instagram
