Han Lue (Sung Kang) may actually be working for the mysterious villain in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw when he returns in Fast & Furious 9. Ever since the first trailer for F9 revealed the return of the character, fans have been wondering how he managed to survive his presumed death in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. There have been several popular theories out there explaining his resurrection, but another possibility effectively pits him against Dom (Vin Diesel) and his crew.
Originally introduced as Sean Boswell's (Lucas Black) mentor in the Japan-set installment, Han's origin story, however, was properly chronicled in Justin Lin's Better Luck Tomorrow. After the filmmaker was brought into the Fast & Furious franchise, he took the character with him, making him a member of Dom's team. Admittedly, the chronological order of the Fast & Furious films makes it a bit confusing to track down Han's history in the film series; he's able to return in the Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Fast & Furious 6 before his apparent death in Tokyo Drift because technically, the first two films take place before the Japan-set installment. Furious 7 directly picked up from the events of Tokyo Drift revealing that Owen Shaw's (Luke Evans) brother, Deckard (Jason Statham) killed Han as part of his revenge plan against Dom's gang.
As an important member of the crew, Han's return excited fans. That said, it might not be all good news. The character may not be as trustworthy as he was before the events of Tokyo Drift. F9 can pull the ultimate plot twist and reveal that he's actually a double agent working for Eteon.
F9's decision to bring back Han means that they have a proper explanation for his sudden resurrection. The trailer for the film reveals Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) fighting some goons in a Japanese-style house, which is eventually revealed to seemingly be in the East Asian country based on the neon lights-lit streets. This implies that the women have to travel to Japan to potentially recruit Han for their new mission against Jakob (John Cena) and Cipher (Charlize Theron). Dom doesn't seem to be too surprised when their supposedly dead friend makes an appearance unlike Roman (Tyrese Gibson) so, there's a chance that he somehow knew what was coming. It's worth noting that Dom was the only one who traveled to Japan to claim Han's dead body at the start of Furious 7, and he has direct contact with Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) who also stars in F9 as well.
Regardless of what the case may be, F9 has to provide some answers regarding Han's return, otherwise, the franchise risks disappointing their legions of fans who have been on the #JusticeforHan train for a while now. That said, it's also important that they come up with a solid explanation about the matter; it can't be as simple as Han surviving the crash and going into hiding for years. They pulled the same thing with Letty which received a considerable amount of backlash; they don't want to repeat the same mistake in a much grander way with Han.
Han's surprising return in F9 may effectively tie it to the events of Hobbs & Shaw. The Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham-led Fast & Furious movie spin-off introduced the concept of resurrection from death as seen in the film's villain, Brixton (Idris Elba). Initially an MI6 agent with Deckard Shaw, he became disillusioned with what's happening in the world making it so much easier for Eteon to recruit him. He was tasked to bring in Deckard with him, however, the older Shaw sibling received orders from the British Intelligence agency to take down his colleague. Deckard did so, putting a bullet into his head, believing that he had killed him, which is why he was puzzled when a seemingly stronger Brixton hassled them in Hobbs & Shaw.
Turns out, Eteon recovered Brixton's body and essentially brought him back from the dead using their technology. He was implanted with cybernetic and mechanical implants to enhance their physical capabilities, hence, the nickname Black Superman. If Eteon can do this, then it's not out of the realm of possibility that they could've also used the same process with Han following his car crash in Tokyo Drift.
Assuming that Han was indeed saved and resurrected by Eteon, it's possible that the mysterious organization is also able to manipulate him in becoming one of their loyal operatives. It's worth noting that the real identity of Eteon has remained unknown at this point, although there's no scarcity of theories regarding them floating around online. What's clear is that they're not yet done wreaking havoc and will undoubtedly return in future Hobbs & Shaw sequel. They've yet to make their presence known in the main Fast & Furious film series; however, there's a chance that they're ultimately connected to Cipher who's tipped to be the primary villain of the Fast Saga's ongoing mini-arc. The cyber-terrorist is back for Fast 9 and this time, she's able to recruit Dom and Mia's estranged brother, Jakob for an intense family showdown.
Granted that there's behind-the-scenes drama between the people involved in the Fast Saga and its budding spin-off series, at the end of the day, all the films are supposed to exist in a single reality. For the sake of building a cohesive franchise that viewers tend to like these days, they can ultimately set aside those differences to tell a better and bigger story which is something that these blockbusters have been known for. Tying their villains together would be a great and effective way to do that. It also brings Han closer to Deckard, who's ultimately behind his apparent death several years ago.
Aside from the possibility that Eteon resurrected and then brainwashed Han to be one of their loyal agents like they did with Brixton, Han also has a personal motivation to go after Dom and his old team. For a crew who prides themselves in treating each other like family, they sure quickly got over the fact that Deckard killed Han in Tokyo Drift. At the end of Fate of the Furious, Dom decided to forgive Deckard without so much as an apology for what happened with his friend. Not only that, they even went as far as offering him a seat at the table, further driving the idea that they've put the past behind them. This wouldn't be a persistent problem in the Fast Saga if F9 was not bringing back Han, allowing everyone to move forward from their ugly history. However, with the character involved, the franchise will have to revisit the events of his accident and the involvement of Deckard in it.
Overall, pulling this massive plot twist centered on Han in Fast & Furious 9 seems like a great idea. It's a fresh spin on family vs. family narrative that the franchise tried to pull off in Fate of the Furious, only this time, Han could really be seeking revenge against his old colleagues. This also effectively ties in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw into the upcoming film despite neither Johnson nor Statham making an appearance.
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September 30, 2020 at 05:44AM
