The newest entry in the Fast & Furious franchise is almost here, and while there's a lot that fans are certainly going to be surprised by, one of the film's biggest reveals has been known for over a year. The character of Han, played by Sung Kang, is back from the dead. Fans have wanted Justice for Han for years, and they're finally about to get it, though it seems Justice for Han could have taken a somewhat different form. Listen to the director's comments in the video above.
F9 director Justin Lin recently spoke with our own Reelblend podcast and the director reveals that it was during a train trip while scouting for locations that he ultimately decided that the solution for getting justice for Han was simply to bring back the character. Justin Lin explains...
There was this train ride to Edinburgh for a scout. Han actually came alive on that trip because I was working on justice for Han. There was a period where justice for Han was going to be served in flashbacks. It was a crazy trip.
The idea of "Justice for Han" is something fans have been wanting to see for quite some time. The character's death at the hands of Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw was one thing. The fact that Shaw then became part of the team was something that many fans took issue with. Clearly, Justin Lin also had issues, and he really wanted F9 to address all these outlying questions in some way, though even he wasn't quite sure what to do.
It sounds like, initially, Justin Lin's plan was simply to bring Han back in flashback and not actually reveal that Han had survived his car crash. But while on this trip and wrestling with the question, he made the decision to actually bring back Han. Of course, one assumes there will still be plenty of flashbacks, as F9 will need to explain just how Han survived the accident back in the third film.
Justin Lin doesn't explain what it was specifically on this trip that made him decide to bring Han back. As he tells the Reelblend crew, he was also dealing with the fact that he wouldn't be able to actually send a Pontiac Fierro in low earth orbit, though he apparently wanted to do just that.
Assuming that the explanation for Han's resurrection works well enough, it will probably be much more satisfying for fans then simply seeing him return in flashbacks. And it seems likely that it means Han will return once again in the tenth entry in the Fast & Furious franchise, that we still know is coming. At some point, there will likely still need to be a final confrontation between Han and Shaw in order to get true justice for Han.
