F9 (film)

F9 (also known as F9: The Fast Saga or Fast & Furious 9: The Fast Saga) is a 2021 American action film directed by Justin Lin, who co-wrote the screenplay with Daniel Casey, based on a story by Lin, Alfredo Botello, and Casey. It is the sequel to The Fate of the Furious (2017), the ninth main installment, and the tenth installment overall in the Fast & Furious franchise. It stars Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, alongside Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Michael Rooker, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell, and Charlize Theron. In the film, Toretto and the team come together to stop a world-shattering plot involving his younger brother, Jakob (Cena).

With a ninth film planned since 2014, Lin was confirmed as director in October 2017, returning to the franchise for the first time since directing Fast & Furious 6 (2013). F9 is the first film in the franchise since 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) to not be written by Chris Morgan. Dwayne Johnson, who appeared in the previous four films, was announced to return in April 2017, but confirmed his absence in January 2019. The rest of the cast was finalized with the addition of Cena six months later. Brian Tyler returned to compose the score. Principal photography began in June 2019 and lasted until that November, with filming locations including London, Edinburgh, Tbilisi, Los Angeles, and Thailand.

F9 was originally scheduled for release by Universal Pictures on April 19, 2019, but was delayed several times, first due to the release of the spin-off film Hobbs & Shaw (2019) and planned release of No Time to Die (2021), and then the COVID-19 pandemic. It first was released in South Korea on May 19, 2021; it was released in the United Kingdom on June 24, then released in the United States on June 25. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praise for the stunts and Lin's direction, while it was criticized for its unrealistic action sequences, plot, and revision of tropes. It set several pandemic box office records and grossed over $726 million worldwide, becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2021. It was followed by Fast X in 2023.