The “Fast and the Furious” movie franchise has never shied away from bringing popular characters back from impossible situations. Some have returned in completely new roles, as was the case with Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw, who played the main antagonist in “Furious 7” but joins the good guys in the upcoming “Fate of the Furious”; and Michelle Rodriguez’ Letty Ortiz, who presumably died in “Fast and Furious” but was reintroduced in “Fast and Furious 6.”
Now, the return of Sung Kang’s street racer Han Seoul-Oh -- who perished in the fan-favorite film “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” -- could be on the table. /Film caught up with franchise veteran writer Chris Morgan about the upcoming “Fate of the Furious” and asked if the often-mourned Han would ever make a return to the franchise.
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“Now, that’s funny because I’ve actually been thinking about that a lot,” Morgan said. “So it’s interesting that you and I are on the same wavelength there. But I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out. I love Sung -- he’s one of my favorite people on the planet.”
Morgan's response certainly isn't a confirmation that Kang’s character will actually ever make a return, especially considering how he went out, but it should be enough to stoke the curiosity of fans eager to see Han come back. Han was originally introduced in “Tokyo Drift,” but became such a fan-favorite character that series director Justin Lin worked him into subsequent films in the franchise. This was a fairly simple workaround because, when “Tokyo Drift” premiered, it took place in the film franchise’s canonical future. As of “Furious 7,” though, the franchise’s timeline caught up to the death of Han. In fact, much of the film is about how the “Fast and Furious” crew deal with Han’s death.
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Sadly, bringing Han back wouldn’t be as simple as bringing back Rodriguez’ Letty. While Letty was able to survive an explosion because she crawled out of a toppled car before it exploded, Han did not. The character undeniably perished on the streets of the Shibuya, so it's unclear how Morgan could work around one of the clearest deaths in the series.
Debuting in theaters on April 14, “The Fate of the Furious” is directed by F. Gary Gray and stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Kurt Russell, Scott Eastwood, Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren.