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Hollywood actor Vin Diesel has said the ongoing coronavirus epidemic won’t have an impact on the release of his upcoming action film Fast & Furious 9.
In the wake of premiere cancellations and release delays, Vin Diesel has said that Fast & Furious 9 will be unleashed on 22 May despite concerns over coronavirus.
New Bond movie No Time To Die is among those to have shifted release dates, while Mission: Impossible 7 has pushed back its shoot and the China release of Disney’s live-action Mulan is delayed.
READ MORE: James Bond sequel ‘No Time to Die’ postponed over coronavirus
Vin Diesel, who reprises his role as Dom in the ninth installment of the franchise, said people need cinema now more than ever. “I won’t fault anyone in the world for saying, ‘You guys are stupid for releasing this movie right now.’
He added: “We need movies now more than ever. We’re already in a very interesting time where cinema and the cinematic experience is so threatened.
“So, yes, put it on record we’re going to show up. I love to show up for the audience and for the fans because God knows how much they’ve showed up for me. I’m crazy. I’m begging Sony to let me go to China, even now. And you should see everyone’s faces like, ‘You’re going alone, buddy!’
“Maybe the higher thinking is not to just focus on the box office, but know that we’re all one world and we all have to get through this together.”
The cast of the film also includes Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Nathalie Emmanuel and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, as well as newcomer John Cena.
The movie’s Chinese premiere was axed last month, along with the premieres for movies like 1917 and Sonic The Hedgehog. The Chinese government decides when movies in the country are released, not film companies releasing them, and currently the vast majority of cinemas in China are shuttered. The box office economy in China has tanked, losing £1.5 billion since the cinema closures.
Fast & Furious 9 – or F9, as it’s being billed internationally – is due for release on 22 May. Diesel’s new film Bloodshot comes to cinemas on March 11.
