With each new chapter of the Fast and Furious franchise, both heroes and villains are introduced who often play components of subsequent adventures, but F9 star Anna Sawai didn’t reprise her role of Elle in Fast X, to the confusion of many. Even though Sawai didn’t appear in the film, or even earn any sort of mention, Sung Kang, whose Han served as a surrogate father figure for Elle, claims that a sequence was shot that implied where Elle was and how prominent of a figure she was in Han’s life, but the film only allowed so many components to be explored in a limited amount of time. Fast X is in theaters now.
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“Actually, there was a scene shot kind of hinting where she was, but it didn’t make the cut. Vin [Diesel] had a great idea because he loves to talk about mythology and minute details of the characters and their origin, their background, and other characters that have connected tissue,” Kang shared with Insider. “Because the whole theme of Fastย has always been family, every character has to be rooted in that. Every step that they take in their story has to be rooted in that theme and the purpose and the importance of family.”
He continued, “Dialogue was happening with Vin and the producers and [director] Louis [Leterrier] going, ‘What’s Han’s motivation? Why does he do this stuff? What drives him? What is he feeling guilty about? What is his motivation to come back or survive this Rome heist? What makes him tick? What wakes him up in the morning? What keeps him on the straight line?’ And it’s Elle.”
While it’s unclear when the next chapter of the series will be moving forward, it could bring a lot of excitement for Han, as Fast X also confirmed that Gal Gadot’s Gisele was back, allowing both her and Elle to be important figures in Han’s journey.
“Elle, in our story now, is in school and we wanted to incorporate her, but there’s just so much real estate,” the actor admitted. “Hopefully, in the next, there’s more opportunity, there’s more room to explore that because that’s what grounds the characters and makes them relatable. Driving fast and saving the world and hair flowing, all of that, that’s nice. You need that. But then you want those moments with Gisele and Elle — a father Sung moment, a romantic moment. There’s room for that.”
Fast X is in theaters now.
Do you wish the film included Elle? Let us know in the comments!
