Warning! Spoilers ahead for Fast and Furious 9.
Fast and Furious 9’s villain plot explained. After a year-long delay due to the global pandemic, F9 finally raced into theaters with an abundance of new car stunts, action sequences, family bonding (and fighting), as well as a trip to outer space. F9 had several moving parts, people switching sides, reunions, and two surprising villains who were ultimately after the same thing in the end.
Following the events of The Fate and the Furious, F9 sees Letty, Dom, and his son Brian settling down into a quieter life. They don’t have phones and have been off the grid long enough to be surprised by their crew’s abrupt arrival. Naturally, they’re pulled back into the life they left behind after it’s revealed that Jakob, Dom and Mia’s estranged brother, has turned up with a plot to steal a very dangerous device called Aries.
With Jakob scheming throughout the film, F9’s plot takes several twists and turns, one that even includes Cipher’s involvement and the long-awaited return of Han. The villainous storyline manages to connect several of the characters’ subplots together, while also introducing new people into the world of the franchise. Here is what happened with the antagonists’ plans for Aries during F9.
What Is The Aries Device (& How Jakob Knew About It)
The Aries project is a pretty dangerous digital device as it can hack into any weapons system from around the world and control it when connected to a satellite. The Aries device, too powerful to be in any one person’s possession, is split in half so that it wouldn’t be so easily found, and then tied to the DNA of the scientists who created it. The device included launching a satellite into space to upload the Aries system in an attempt to take complete control of the global weapons systems. The only reason Jakob knew about Aries was because he was working as a covert agent for Mr. Nobody.
When he found out about the weapon, Jakob went rogue, teaming up with Otto, the spoiled rich son of a billionaire, to kill the people who worked on it, Elle’s parents, and retrieve it. It’s unclear when exactly Jakob began working for Mr. Nobody, but he abandoned his post entirely shortly after meeting Otto and they schemed together to steal Aries, which eventually came into Nobody’s possession. It’s why Jakob was able to get ahead of Dom’s team because he already had wealthy alliances and knew about certain things — including the highly secured bunker — from working as a covert agent beforehand.
Why Jakob Wanted Aries (Its Connection To Dom)
A big part of the reason why Jakob Toretto wanted the Aries device was to attain global power. With a digital device that could control the world’s weaponry, Jakob would be indestructible with the fully utilized equipment. He would lord it over those in power to get and do whatever he wants. That said, it’s hard to gauge what Jakob’s long-term goals beyond that were. After acquiring Aries and controlling weapons, what exactly he would do next is a bit of a mystery. That said, much of Jakob’s reasoning for his plans was to ultimately upstage Dom. He likely didn't care so much about what he could do with Aries, so much as who he could impress with his accomplishments.
For his entire life, Jakob felt overshadowed by his older brother; Dom was their father’s golden child and Jakob was alienated from the Toretto family after his death, driven out of the city by Dom and forced to survive on his own. Jakob was angry about that, so when he finally found out about the Aries device, he realized he could have the power and control that he didn't have when a part of the Toretto family. He could finally step out from behind Dom’s shadow to be known for something and that was deeply important to him. It’s pretty warped to think Jakob would go to such great lengths to be able to create a separate legacy of his own. He and Dom have always had somewhat of a competitive relationship and the Aries device just showcased how wide the chasm between them had grown.
How Aries Brought Han Back To F9
F9 had a pretty convoluted plot surrounding Han, the beloved street racer who was presumably killed at the end of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift/Fast & Furious 6, while also delivering on the long-awaited justice for the character. Fans knew in advance that Han would be back in F9 and the film explained his return, which connected directly back to Aries and Jakob’s plot to steal it. Prior to the events of Han's “death,” Han was tasked by Mr. Nobody to steal one half of the Aries device from the home of Elle’s parents, who had created it, after realizing Jakob had gone rogue.
After watching her parents be murdered, Han killed all of the operatives and took Elle in to protect her. Mr. Nobody subsequently helped Han fake his own death to evade Jakob and remain in hiding while Mr. Nobody took Aries into his custody. Because of his involvement with Aries and protecting Elle, whose DNA was the key to unlocking the digital device, Han was roped back in with Dom’s crew. It’s a roundabout explanation for why Han is alive and one that somewhat alleviates Shaw’s role in killing him, too. All told, Han’s role with Aries reveals why he had to go off-grid and couldn’t reach out to Dom prior to F9.
Why Jakob Kidnapped Cipher In F9
At some point between The Fate of the Furious and F9, Cipher had been taken in by Mr. Nobody, but their plane was hijacked by Jakob’s men, who kidnapped the cyber-terrorist, at the beginning of the film. Aries was clearly not easy to hack and, since it was split into two parts, Jakob needed to find out where the other half of it was before moving forward with his plan. That’s where Cipher’s expertise came in — she knew where the second half of the Aries device was being kept. Although she tried to convince Jakob to work for her instead, she ultimately caved and told him where to find what he needed.
Cipher's F9 Villain Plan Explained
Cipher’s involvement in F9 is interesting because, despite being held in a cell for the majority of the film, she was able to sway Otto into betraying Jakob and work for her instead. Not only is she a master at hacking anything, she is also capable of manipulation and getting what she wants out of people. Her goals were similar to Jakob’s, only hers weren’t seeded in trying to step out of Dom’s shadow. Cipher is a cyber-terrorist and having control over the entire world’s weapons system was something she could use to get whatever she wanted. Creating chaos was very much her thing.
Her schemes in F9 were an extension of her plans from The Fate of the Furious, in which she wanted to start a nuclear war by stealing Russian nuclear codes to start. With the Aries device, Cipher didn’t need one specific nuclear code as she did before; she would have all that she needed with the full activation of Aries and the satellite. With Otto’s money and the digital device under her control, Cipher would have been nearly invincible. What she probably didn’t expect is for Dom and Jakob to reconcile and team up, foiling her villainous F9 plot altogether.