Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez have revealed that Fast & Furious 9 begins filming next month. Back in September, it was believed that the highly anticipated sequel was going to head into production in April, but it appears that those plans have officially changed. Diesel just recently wrapped principal photography on the Bloodshot movie and is eager to get back to work with his Fast and Furious family for the April 2020 release date.

The Fast and Furious 9 filming start was announced on Vin Diesel's Instagram account with Michelle Rodriguez. The production is heading to London for a February start, though an exact date has yet to be revealed. Director Justin Lin is back to helm the sequel, but there isn't much information about what the story will be about this time around, other than the fact that it will center on some pretty intense action. Going to space has been teased, but that seems highly unlikely. Vin Diesel had previously mentioned the possibility of heading to Africa for the first time, so that could happen.

One of the big question marks revolves around whether or not Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham will return for Fast and Furious 9. Franchise writer-producer Chris Morgan says that he can see it happening, but he wasn't specific as to when that will be. Johnson and Statham are working on the Fast and Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw, which hits theaters this summer. When asked about coming back late last year, Johnson had this to say.

"When you have a franchise that is as successful as the Fast and Furious franchise, the goal, certainly my goal, was always to try and create a scenario where we have as much longevity as we possibly can have. And in that spirit, you have to evolve and you have to spin off and you have to create new characters and new stories, especially when you're coming off Fast 8, where you have an eight at the end of your title."

Dwayne Johnson seems to indicate that he may not be on board for Fast and Furious 9. After the release of the last installment, Johnson, Jason Statham, and the studio thought that it was time to make their move, so they launched into Hobbs & Shaw, which wasn't received very well by some cast members from the franchise, including Tyrese Gibson who tried to get into a feud with Johnson online over the spin-off. In the end, anything is possible for the Fast and Furious franchise and we really don't know if Johnson will be back at this time.

With Fast and Furious 9 set to film next month, we should start to get some casting information along with some ideas as to what the story will be about. As for fans who can't wait for April of 2020 to roll around, Hobbs & Shaw has you covered with a July 26th, 2019 release date. This is still a developing story and there's a lot more news to come. In the meantime, you can check out the Fast and Furious 9 announcement below, provided by Vin Diesel's Instagram account.