Luke Evans' Owen Shaw made a surprise return in The Fate of the Furious, but what happened to him after the movie ended? The Shaw family has continued to play prominent roles in recent entries of the Fast & Furious franchise, with Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) receiving the biggest role to date. But, it was his younger brother Owen who brought the Shaw's into the franchise first, as Owen was the main villain in Fast & Furious 6.
The ending of the sixth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise left Owen's future with the franchise in doubt. He was severely injured in the extremely long climactic runway chase and left in a coma. The beginning of Furious 7 showed Deckard visiting the hospital Owen was stationed in, but it wasn't until Fast & Furious 8 that Owen was back on his feet. He returned in the third act to help Deckard save Dominic Toretto's child and was last seen commanding the pilot of Cipher's plane to land. To the surprise of many, Owen didn't make an appearance in Hobbs & Shaw, leaving fans to wonder what he has been doing since The Fate of the Furious ended.
Unfortunately, the next chapter in Owen's story hasn't been thoroughly explored yet. The other known members of the Shaw family all returned in Hobbs & Shaw, as Vanessa Kirby made her debut as Owen's sister Hattie and Helen Mirren returned to cameo as his mother, Queenie. Yet, Owen wasn't even mentioned in the film. However, director David Leitch did tease in an interview with Screen Rant that he believes that Owen has been working on missions of his own with his mother in the meantime and could return at any point. Since Queenie was in prison until the end of Hobbs & Shaw, Owen may have been busy handling the Shaw family business.
The lack of a role for Owen Shaw since The Fate of the Furious is one glaring misstep for the franchise that could be fixed soon. Franchise writer Chris Morgan told Screen Rant in 2019 that he, like many viewers, is a big fan of the character and teased the wait to see Owen again might not be too long. So far, Owen has not been confirmed to be involved in Fast & Furious 9, but his possible appearance won't be seen until the summer of 2021 now. The trailers for F9 have confirmed that Queenie will return, but no other Shaws have been seen. If Leitch's headcanon that Owen has been working with Queenie is correct, then perhaps Owen's role in Fast & Furious 9 will be tied to what his mom is up to.
Although it has been over seven years and three movies since Owen received a substantial role in a Fast & Furious movie, there is still hope that he'll return in some capacity in a future project. A role in F9 is not guaranteed, but Owen easily could find a spot in Hobbs & Shaw 2. The sequel will likely continue the adventures of Deckard, Hattie, and Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) while bringing back other newcomers like Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Hart. There's no reason why Owen can't be included, and Luke Evans is ready to return too. And since his whereabouts since the end of The Fate of the Furious haven't been touched, there is a blank slate for the franchise to utilize him as need be.
