It’s no easy time for the world. Many of us are in a state of panic especially since COVID-19 was named a pandemic this week. And in order to exercise the proper precautions to prevent further spread of the coronavirus virus, a series of upcoming movies cancelled their release dates yesterday, including F9. The next installment in the Fast and Furious franchise, which will introduce John Cena to the cast among other new additions, was delayed a full year.
Social media users are seeing a lot of cancellation announcements and hysteric comments about the state of our world. But John Cena took to Twitter to offer a calming message to fans regarding the ongoing crisis. Here’s what he said:
Thanks, man. We could use a lot more grounding comments such as these. The former WWE wrestler discussed how the subject of the coronavirus can create panic among people, and it's not hard to agree about that. John Cena talks about how we have complicated feelings, both positive and negative, that we need to recognize and be aware of. His final message was to use our brains instead of leading with our emotions since it is “our strongest ally.”
These are wise words from the actor at a time when the film industry is witnessing the ripple effects of the spread of coronavirus. Many large gatherings have been cancelled these past few weeks, and on Thursday alone, A Quiet Place Part II, The Lovebirds, Mulan, The New Mutants and Antlers were postponed for undisclosed dates. Along with pushing aside its upcoming releases, Disney has decided to temporarily close its doors along with other theme parks.
F9 is the movie that it seems fans will have to wait the longest for among the pushed back releases thus far. No Time To Die was the first major release to take this action, but for seven months – F9 is about a full year away now. It actually replaced the original date of Fast & Furious 10.
Just a few days prior, Vin Diesel was vocally against F9 being pushed back because he felt like ”we need movies now more than ever” during this crisis. The actor said he was willing to go out to China no matter what to promote the movie. Since the virus has become more serious, President Donald Trump officially declared a national emergency and said he would give states up to $50 million in federal funds to combat the spread, per The New York Times.
John Cena recently wrapped filming on James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, which is set to come out August 6, 2021 – now just four months separated from F9. Cena is playing Dom Toretto’s brother, Jakob, in his coming debut to the Fast & Furious franchise.
