The Fast and Furious franchise is, for many people, a fun series of movies based around increasingly insane car stunts. In general the movies don't take themselves too seriously, and that's part of why they're so much fun. However, the nine films in the franchise thus far have created some characters that fans are truly invested in, no matter how crazy the action. And that passion has led to many taking serious issue with the way the films took the character of Deckard Shaw, and transformed him from villain to hero, even after he did the unthinkable and killed another member of the "family." And now Han himself has spoken to this redemption.
After calling for "Justice for Han" for years, fans have already learned that the popular character played by Sung Kang will return from the dead in F9 --the newest Fast and Furious movie set to open in June. While details as to exactly how Han is still alive will have to wait for the film itself, Sung Kang recently spoke with People about his resurrection and the conflict the fan base has over Jason Statham's character evolving into one of the good guys. While fans may take issue with Deckard Shaw's new found heroism, the man who plays Han is ok with it, and he promises the new movie will explain everything...
We'll have explanations in Fast 9. ... Everybody loves Jason, so why not, right? I've got to include him, right? Hey, if I can die 10 times, he can turn into a good guy from a bad guy. [laughs] It's not that big of a deal, but it's a course correction for the audience. Never dismiss and disrespect the audience. They are the reason why the movies exist, so you can't just ignore them. It's cool and great that a studio like Universal listens, they listen. That's a course correction. That's the justice.
At the end of the sixth entry in the Fast and Furious franchise we learned that the death of Han, which had taken place in Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift, was not the random accident it appeared to be, but a targeted attack on part of Dominic Toretto's crew. Throughout Furious 7, Dom and family fought Deckard Shaw, and eventually defeated him.
But then, in The Fate of the Furious, Deckard Shaw was brought into the fold, and while he was a somewhat unwilling participant, by the end, he appeared to be accepted by the group, and he even got his own spinoff. This rubbed fans the wrong way not simply because Shaw was now apparently supposed to be one of the "family" but because the death of Han was never even brought up. Everybody just acted cool with it.
Sung Kang does seem to take issue with that approach here, clearly feeling that ignoring the issue was the wrong move because it disrespected the audience. F9 will, it would appear, be planning to finally address these issues. Not only will we learn how and why Han is alive, but it sounds like it will done in a way that will make Deckard Shaw's face turn make more sense. We'll fine out when F9 hits theaters June 25.
