BBC
The 16-time world champion in WWE and the latest A-list celebrity addition to the cast of Fast and Furious 9 film John Cena has found himself in quite a sheepish situation after he went on to say that Taiwan would be the first country to feast themselves with the latest addition to the Fast and Furious franchise.
In a recent zoom call interview, Cena was promoting the film and explaining more about his character as he gets in the shoes of the main antagonist Jakob, who is Dom’s (Vin Diesel) brother in the 9th installment. When asked about the scattered release of the film throughout the world, the 44-year-old star said that Taiwan would be the first country to see the film followed by China.
His reply sparked a massive outrage in China which also happens to be one of the biggest markets for the Vin Diesel-led franchise coming second only to the U.S. The film which carries a budget of more than $200 million had already been stalled for over a year because of the covid induced restrictions.
The very next day, John subtly uploaded a video on Twitter apologizing to his Chinese fans as the country doesn’t recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country but as their own territory in the South China Sea. So apparently, Vin Diesel who also serves as a producer didn’t want to lose out on some sure cash from the market.
The over-the-top franchise which has been facing various hurdles since 2013 after the demise of their lead actor Paul Walker and the massively covered friction between Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson is now grappling with another.
Fans around the world have said that John has been brought to fill the void after Dwayne left the franchise because of the scuffle. The film which holds a rating of 5.5/10 on IMDb will release on the 25th of June in the United States and India.