F9 Director Justin Lin Discusses Bringing Han Back to the FAST & FURIOUS Franchise

Last week the first trailer dropped for the ninth film in the Fast & Furious franchise, F9, and the end of the trailer made the big reveal that the fan-favorite character Han (Sung Kang) is alive and well! Fans have been wanting justice for Han for years, and now we are getting a lot more than that! He’s back in the franchise and his story will continue!

During a recent interview with EW, Lin talked about bringing Han back to the franchise saying:

"Obviously, I have a very personal connection to the character. To be honest, when we first started, the community of Fast was not the community that it is today. I feel like, together, every kind of connection with the audience, we had to earn. With these sequels, sometimes people take it for granted and think it’s just going to happen; I always think we have to earn the next one.

“To be able to go through that journey with Han… when I left, I felt it was appropriate and I felt like we were putting the character to bed, but it’s because of some of the things that happened that didn’t quite make sense to me, and so I felt like if I was going to come back, I really wanted to explore why. I think it’s really up to us to bring him back and explore it throughout the themes that we’re all used to."

Lin goes on to tease that F9 will answer how Han shows up in the film alive and how he will factor into the film, saying:

"In this world, I feel like things happen for a reason. I won’t go into details or anything, but I do think that bringing him back is nothing I take lightly — and it took a lot — but I think what I appreciate is that this universe has really grown and it allows us to evolve and really kind of redefine ourselves as we go."

It was also revealed that this ninth film will also reintroduce two other characters who made their first appearance alongside Han in Tokyo Drift. We also have new poster for the film featuring Han that you can see below.

F9 opens May 22nd.