So, Ben Stiller isn't in F9? Over the weekend a very surprising rumor began to circulate regarding a casting addition to the ever-growing roster of the Fast and Furious franchise. That addition pertained to Zoolander himself, Ben Stiller, the man of Meet the Parents and Tropic Thunder fame. The rumor suggested that Stiller would be making his debut in the upcoming ninth installment, F9, with reports being unclear on the size of his role. Sadly, despite the generally positive response to the actor's inclusion, Stiller himself has now emerged to shoot down the rumors as untrue.

"Reports of my Fast and Furiosness are greatly exaggerated. Meaning not at all true, sadly. Though I wish them well with the franchise. Fingers crossed it takes off."

Well, that sounds like things have been cleared up rather bluntly. Not much room for interpretation there. Though no doubt there will be those out there, so delirious with excitement about Stiller joining the adrenaline-fueled Fast and Furious universe that they will assert that the actor is simply lying to keep his inclusion a surprise.

Ben Stiller concluded his social media declaration with the hashtags #FastAndFurious and #PageSixIsAmazing, which is surely a dig at the source of the rumor. Fans have responded to Stiller's denial with much disappointment, and are hoping that he might become part of the series eventually.

Though Stiller will not be appearing in the movie, Fast & Furious 9 will see the debut of WWE star John Cena as the long-lost brother of Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto. The movie will also see the return of a number of characters from across the series, including the mysterious resurrection of Sung Kang's Han, a character who was seemingly killed in one of the earlier movies. Director Justin Lin has spoken about the character's return previously, naming the character as one of the reasons why he has returned to the franchise.

"You'll find out, but Han is a very special character for me. He's been kind of a special character throughout, and when I left in [Fast & Furious 6], we kind of left together. One of the reasons for me to come back was to bring him back. I was at a Q&A for a film and someone in the audience said they were confused about what happened. It really kind of got in my head and inspired me that if we're gonna continue, we should have justice for Han, for sure."

F9 picks up after the events of 2017's The Fate of the Furious, Dominic Toretto and his family must face Dominic's younger brother Jakob, a deadly assassin, who is working with their old enemy Cipher, and who holds a personal vendetta against Dominic. The movie will star Vin Diesel, John Cena, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren, and Charlize Theron.

F9 is scheduled to hit theaters on May 22, 2020. This disappointing news comes to us courtesy of Ben Stiller's official Twitter account.