I worked for an executive at NBC/Universal in Los Angeles back in 2005. One week, I was in charge of filing a hundred or so briefs on various film projects.
This was after 2 Fast 2 Furious came out, and it was something of a running joke among me and my co-workers. None of us had seen it, but the title was so silly we couldn’t imagine them greenlighting a 3 Fast 3 Furious.
The cabinets these files were stored in had info on all manner of past and future projects. Imagine my surprise when I saw not 2, not 3, but NINE FILE FOLDERS for future movies in the Fast & Furious franchise. This was after #2.
Everybody I told the story to couldn’t believe it. How ridiculous, that they were planning nine films in a franchise after releasing a Part Two that was a punchline to a lot of people, particularly in the halls of NBC/Universal.
This is all to say, you can catch F9 in theaters in 2021 (assuming they’re open), or ride the joke of a ride at Universal, and I don’t know bupkis.
DISCLOSURE: NBC/Universal paid me money sixteen years ago, but didn’t pay me for this post.
NOTE TO NBC/Universal: If you want to pay me for this post, comments are open.