Warning: SPOILERS for Fast & Furious 9
Fast & Furious 9 promised justice for Han Lue, and it delivered on that in the best possible way considering the events that unfolded in the movie. The ninth installment in the main Fast and Furious saga brought back Sung Kang's fan-favorite character, who had been believed to be dead for years. Han's reemergence only intensified the Justice for Han movement prior to release, prompting the team behind F9 to assure audiences it would do right by Han.
Han was the brainchild of director Justin Lin and was first introduced in his 2002 film Better Luck Tomorrow. When the filmmaker was tapped to helm Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift, he brought Han into the car-centric franchise, and the character became an integral part of Dom's crew. Before that, however, Han was seemingly killed in a car crash at the end of Tokyo Drift. Technically, Tokyo Drift is the third installment in the franchise by release date, but due to The Fast Saga's convoluted timeline, the events of that movie happen later in the timeline of that universe. Thus, Han appeared in the next few movies Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Fast & Furious 6. With Tokyo Drift now retconned to having been set after the events of Fast & Furious 6, it was revealed in Furious 7 that Han's fatal accident had been arranged by Deckard Shaw as part of his revenge against Dom's crew for what happened to his brother Owen, the main antagonist of Fast & Furious 6.
Despite that, Deckard was never held accountable for what he did to Han. In fact, he was only an adversary to Dom and the team in Furious 7. Past that movie, there was barely any further mention of what went down in Tokyo and what he did to Han. At the time, plenty of audiences questiond the decision to make Shaw an antihero and ally of Dom's team in the very next movie, The Fate of the Furious, with no repercussions for his actions, particularly regarding Han. It was a big talking point heading into F9's release after the first trailer confirmed Han had survived the attempted murder.
Justice For Han Campaign Explained
Ever since it was revealed that Deckard Shaw had been the one behind Han's accident, there has been a push from fans for the older Shaw brother to pay for what he did. Han's death was partly the motivation for Dom and his team to face off against Shaw in Furious 7, and for a while, there was an idea that, ultimately, Deckard would be liable for his crimes. Instead, Deckard followed in the footsteps of Luke Hobbs, in an adversary-turned-ally arc, befriending Dom and his group; The Fast Saga pivoted and rehabilitated the former MI6 agent's image in Fate of the Furious when the F. Gary Gray-directed installment made Deckard an unlikely ally to the team. While it was understandable that Dom was willing to take Deckard's help, especially in his direst moment, there was a strong backlash from audiences when the crew's ring leader appeared to have accepted Deckard into his team with Deckard barely being remorseful for the death of Han.
Further making things worse was Deckard getting his own Fast and Furious franchise spinoff with Hobbs in Hobbs & Shaw. It was an unmistakable indication that Deckard is now one of the good guys. He was humanized in the offshoot with a greater exploration of his origins, not to mention the involvement of his family. While the pair's adventures took place across the pond, there was a promise that, eventually, his path would converge with Dom and his crew once again. By then, it was clear there would be little further resistance to Deckard being fully embraced as one of the heroes of the franchise. Those who supported the Justice for Han movement, however, saw it as a betrayal of the character that Deckard Shaw should be rehabilitated and forgiven so easily without atoning for his crimes. Thus the #JusticeforHan hashtag campaign was born.
How F9 Gives Justice For Han
Once Lin caught wind about the growing Justice for Han campaign, coincidentally during the 25th anniversary party for Better Luck Tomorrow, he started pondering the possibility of addressing the issue. Eventually, the filmmaker reached out to Kang, informing the actor that there might be a way for him to both return to The Fast Saga and also do something for the fan movement. Lin later revealed that it was one of the motivating factors for him to revisit the franchise, and that he was committed to delivering a fitting story addressing Han's accident and Shaw's deception. That became clear when the first trailer for F9 confirmed that Han was somehow alive and back in the franchise.
Now that the aforementioned blockbuster has been released, it was revealed that it was Mr. Nobody who made Han's survival possible. Fast & Furious 9 didn't get into specifics as to how this was achieved, but Han apparently had been recruited by the mysterious boss when he relocated to Japan after Gisele's death in Fast & Furious 6. Thanks to Mr. Nobody's help, Han was able to prepare for the expected hit from Deckard and the pair then opted to keep his survival a secret even from Dom's team and his Tokyo Drift friends.
Beyond his welcome return, the post-credits scene of F9 finally brought Han and Deckard face-to-face, as the former sought out the latter, who was in the middle of torturing an unknown. Deckard was shocked to see the man he supposedly killed in Tokyo, but it's safe to say that Han has no interest in explaining his resurrection. Instead, he's there to seek revenge and the post-credits scene makes it clear Deckard will not, in fact, skate free of his crime after all.
Why F9 Offered The Best Possible Justice For Han
Heading into F9, there was doubt as to whether or not justice for Han's attempted murder by Deckard Shaw would really be given. Granted that what ultimately ended up on the big screen isn't the ideal retribution many envisioned, it's still the best-case scenario given the overall narrative of the movie and sets up a significant future for both characters. While Han's resurrection was one of the biggest talking points for F9, his story is not its main focus. Dom's ugly past with his estranged brother, Jakob, resurfacing as their paths crossed again after years was the main story. Given this, it's understandable that Han's involvement in the film was primarily to serve that narrative and not his personal arc.
The great thing about what Fast & Furious 9 did with Han's story, though, is that it sent a clear message that Han would eventually get his vengeance. It may not be done in one film and not right away, but the post-credit scene made it clear the filmmakers are setting it up for a future movie, likely in Fast & Furious 10, or even in another Fast Saga spinoff. With Lin still helming the next two movies, audiences can count on this promise. It's uncertain how this particular plot will pan out as it's doubtful that Han went to confront Deckard on his own. Regardless of the specifics, chances are that it will be integral to what's coming up in Fast & Furious 10. This way, the next Fast & Furious blockbuster can properly tackle Han's retribution without it feeling like an entirely separate story.