Despite premiering amidst concerns of the recent COVID-19 Delta variant surge, F9 grossed over $700 million worldwide. However, while its box office numbers might not be going up by a significant amount anytime soon, it appears that the film is getting a boost in revenue thanks to its Blu-ray release. Apparently, as per Vin Diesel, F9 is going to get a director’s cut once it comes out on Blu-ray on September 21.
What’s included in the F9 Director’s Cut?
Universal Pictures originally planned for F9 to premiere in 2019 with the next Fast and Furious film premiering in April 2021. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, amongst others matters, forced Universal to push back F9’s release date by two years. Yet, despite the delay, F9 was still a huge hit. Soon after F9 was released in theaters, Universal confirmed that the tenth film was coming in 2023 with filming starting next year. To help tide Fast fans over the long wait, Diesel decided to share a sneak peek at the director’s cut of the latest Fast and Furious film over on his Instagram account. Unfortunately, Diesel did not show too much footage on the video. Instead, it was more of him talking up about how happy he is to see Justin Lin back in the director’s chair while teasing that the director’s cut will have more “Fast DNA”. Lin made a name for himself with 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Since then, he’s come back to direct four more Fast and Furious films, including Fast 9. After missing out on 2015’s Furious 7 and 2017’s Fate of the Furious, Justin Lin is now set to direct the last two Fast and Furious films. The director’s cut is a sure-fire way to get fans excited for the Blu-ray release of F9. There’s this particular action sequence in space and another where Dom is on top of a large tank that was notably absent from the theatrical release. The director’s cut also appears to delve deeper into the complicated relationship between Jakob and Dom, which we didn’t really get to see much of in theaters. With that said, don’t expect the overall narrative of the film to change much just because of the director’s cut. If anything, it should make the critically-panned film make more sense, and will give audiences a chance to see what Justin Lin really wanted for the film. In other Fast and Furious news, don’t expect Dwayne Johnson to appear in the next two films. Largely due to the ongoing beef between Johnson and Diesel, as well as the rest of the cast members, Johnson is sitting out the last two films of the franchise. If it’s any consolation, the sequel to 2019’s Hobbs & Shaw is still in the pipeline, with Johnson and Jason Statham both reprising their roles.
