After over a year delay due to the pandemic, F9 is finally hitting theatres everywhere this weekend. The movie will see the return of franchise favorites like Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, but the return that has people especially excited is Sung Kang as Han. The character originally died in The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift, but returned for Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Fast & Furious 6, which all took place before the third movie. In the mid-credits scene for Fast & Furious 6, Han’s death was retconned to be done by Jason Statham‘s character, Deckard Shaw. The “Justice For Han” fan campaign became a huge movement, especially after Toretto’s crew teamed up with Shaw, seemingly forgetting that he killed their friend. Now, eight years later his last appearance, Han is back! Recently, Kang spoke to ComicBook.com about his return and explained what was different about filming this time around.
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“Some people’s waistlines got a little bigger. A little bit more gray hair, few more kids. People are a little slower. It takes a little longer to get out of the trailer. Lines get forgotten a little bit more often. People show up less to the stunt rehearsals,” Kang shared.
“I was happy with my exit,” he added. “I got to go on a few cool adventures in the franchise. I felt like the exit for Han was a nice time to go. There was closure. I got to leave with my buddy, Justin Lin, so it felt right in a way. I’m not affected by FOMO that much in life. I always look forward to new experiences, so it was okay. It was cool.”
When asked about Han’s iconic snacking, Kang replied, “It’s always the Frito Lays baked cheese, the cheddar chips. You know those? They’re baked, really light. I think it’s 70% less fat. Those are the best, the best.”
Director Justin Lin previously revealed it was the “Justice For Han” campaign that helped inspire his return for the new movie.
“Han means so much to me because he was a character before Fast & Furious,” Lin told Total Film in 2020, referring to the character’s unofficial origin story in 2002’s Better Luck Tomorrow. “Somebody asked me about Han and Shaw [Jason Statham]. I was like: ‘Wait, what? Shaw is at the barbecue in 8?’ [laughs] Really, I was so confused. One of the big reasons to come back was I felt like we needed to correct something.”
F9 hits theaters everywhere on June 25th.
