News Movie News

Universal Pictures
ByAbbey White
Once upon a time, it was rare to see a character return from the dead. Existing in narrative limbo under a shroud of post-story ambiguity like that of Walter White or Tony Soprano, sure.But to come entirely back?That was highly unlikely.
Even rarer was it in action films like those in theFast and the Furious franchise, which don't necessarily lend themselves to the same high-concept, rule-bending universe-building ofscience-fiction, fantasy, andsuperhero genres.And yet, the first trailer for the ninthFast and Furious movie,F9,teased just that.
The final few seconds of the trailer effectively rose fan-favorite character Han Lue (a.k.a. Han Seoul-Oh) from the grave. Han — who made his first appearance in theFastfranchise in 2006'sThe Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, the same film in which he was believed to have died in a fiery car crash — was seen walking through a corridor, snack in hand, and saying coyly to the members of Dom Toretto's crew, "Nice clubhouse." He then embraced Dom in an emotional hug.
That big reveal has many fans excited — as it should, because Han's return to theFast and Furious film series is due in large part to them.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, F9 director Justin Lin explained that after he departed from the Fastfranchise back in 2013, a new story idea coupled with comments from hardcore fans inspired himto come back, bringing his long-time collaborator and Han Lue actor Sung Kang with him.
"I would travel and just meet people and fans of the franchise, and they would tell me why they love the franchise so much and just share their stories," said Lin. "And along the way, I hadn't seen the other two movies, and I was at a Q&A for [Lin and Kang's first film together] Better Luck Tomorrow and someone brought up 'justice for Han,' and so all these things were kind of working together."
The #JusticeforHan hashtag was started by fans angry over the franchise's decision to turn former Fast and Furious villain Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) into anally of Dom Torretto's crew before then giving him and Dwayne Johnson's Lucas Hobbs a 2019 spin-off.In thesixth Fastinstallment, Shaw was revealed to be behind Han's presumed death at the end ofTokyo Drift.
Justin Lin believed there were still loose ends with Han's Fast saga character development

Todd Williamson/Getty Images
Oddly enough, Han's F9appearance will basically serve as his second resurrection.The Han Seoul-Oh character debuted in2006'sTokyo Drift and becameso popular that director Lin warped theFast and Furious franchise timeline to include him in future chapters. In a 2016interview with EWcelebrating the 10th anniversary ofTokyo Drift,both Lin and actor Sung Kang said the story of the nomadic, silent observer with deep pockets actually goes all the way back tothe director's first feature film.
In Fast Five, it's established that the name "Han Seoul-Oh" is an alias. Lin subsequently confirmed in various interviews that Han is actually a continuation of Han Lue, the chain-smoking partier with a moral compass from his 2002 independent crime dramaBetter Luck Tomorrow. Based on thereal-life 1992 Honor Roll Murder, the film follows a group of high-achieving Asian American high school students who swap suburban boredom for a school-wide cheating operation that takes a dark turn.
Lin and Kang have grown alongside this character — which is why when the director departed from the franchise, it felt right to finally let the character go.But now Lin is saying that both he and Han have unfinished business in the flashyFast and Furious universe. He toldEW in January 2020, "When I left, I felt it was appropriate, and I felt like we were putting the character to bed, but it's because of some of the things that happened that didn't quite make sense to me, and so I felt like if I was going to come back, I really wanted to explore why."
While it's still mostly unclear how Han will make his Fast and Furious return, it's a fitting one for the saga, according to the director. In a story as much about car racing as the theme of family among its stars and fans, Han is part of that tale.With Han'sFast and Furious return, Kang and his character havereunited with the place — and people — they call home.
F9 will race into theaters on May 22.
Recommended