Han is returning from the dead in F9 and there needs to be a better explanation than what happened with Letty in Fast & Furious 6. The ninth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise will include some major retcons. Jakob (John Cena) has been confirmed to be the brother of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) despite the franchise never mentioning that Dom had one. But, the retconning will continue with Sung Kang reprising his role as Han yet again.
Kang joined the Fast & Furious franchise with Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift, but the spinoff film featured the death of Han. This didn't stop Han from becoming a fan-favorite character, so much so that the franchise retconned the timeline of the movie so he could return in future films. His death was shown again, though, at the end of Fast & Furious 6 and played a vital role in the story of Furious 7. Despite the repeated importance of Han's death, the first trailer for F9 revealed that Han is back. He will rejoin Dom's team in the sequel, although the explanation for him being alive has yet to come.
Fans were delighted to see Han appear at the end of F9's trailer, but it also raised many questions and a few concerns. This has left many wondering how Han is still alive and what the movie will reveal about the previous events to account for this retcon. While the sequel may have a great explanation in store, this isn't the first time that Fast & Furious has brought a character back from the dead. Now that the franchise is poised to repeat this strategy, F9 needs to avoid making the same mistakes Fast & Furious 6 did.
Letty's Return In Fast & Furious 6 Had A Bad Explanation
One of the early surprises for the Fast & Furious story was the death of Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) in the fourth film. Her second, and brief, appearance in the franchise to that point saw Letty die. The death happened off-screen at first, but Dom later visits the place where she died, and the movie show's the events based on how Dom believed they happened. The criminal chasing Letty caused her car to crash and then he proceeded to shoot her. But, it was revealed in Fast Five's post-credits scene that this wasn't what happened at all and that Letty was still alive.
Due to the nature of how Fast & Furious illustrated Letty's death, there was enough space for Fast & Furious 6 to retcon the "real" events of that fateful night. Instead of the criminal shooting Letty, the movie revealed that he shot the car. This caused an explosion that sent Letty flying down a hill, and Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) found her in a hospital two days later. Since Letty had amnesia, he recruited her to join his team of criminals. Interestingly enough, a deleted scene from Furious 7 showed Gisele (Gal Gadot) save Letty and bring her to the hospital. It was likely cut since it adds further complications to how the team didn't already know that she was alive. Regardless, the explanation given for Letty's survival in Fast & Furious 6 is rather weak. The priority was clearly getting Rodriguez back to the franchise at any cost.
Why Han's F9 Return Needs A Proper Story Reason
Now that Han is returning from the dead in F9, the franchise has to do better. His death was already circumvented in the past by making Tokyo Drift come later in the franchise timeline. The placement of the film was changed so that Han could appear in the fourth, fifth, and sixth installments. Han suddenly became a much larger part of the Fast & Furious world, and his death also became a huge story point for the future. The end of Fast & Furious 6 revealed Deckard Shaw was responsible for Han's death, making him the villain for Furious 7. But, this also led fans to continue to wonder how Dom and his team could so quickly move past Deckard's horrendous action and work with him in The Fate of the Furious.
The outcry over Deckard's heroic turn in the franchise, even after Han's death, led fans to begin an online campaign to bring #JusticeForHan. His return in F9 is touted as being the justice that fans have asked for, which only means there is even more pressure on the film to have a meaningful explanation for the return. Retconning Han's death for a second time has two significant benefits for the franchise: Deckard can become more of a hero, and Han could have a role in future movies again. But, if this is going to be done, F9 has to have a good reason for his survival. This can't just be another loophole or vague reinterpretation of the previous events; otherwise, Han's return will be sullied by poor storytelling.
Theories On How Han Is Alive In Fast & Furious
As long as F9 doesn't take the easy way out and reveals that Han managed to sneak out of his car before it exploded, the movie will have its work cut out for it to explain the sudden return. This isn't a case where Han secretly has a twin brother - although that would oddly fit with the Jakob/Dom reveal in F9 - as the marketing has confirmed that Han is back. So, if huge retcons like these ideas are off the table, how else could Han's return be explained?
One of the more popular theories is that F9 will build on Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw to make sense of Han's return. The spinoff movie featured advanced technology that brought Idris Elba's character Brixton back from the dead after he was shot in the head by Deckard. Perhaps the same company that brought Brixton back to life also has a hand in the revival of another one of Deckard's victims. This would be an intriguing twist, but it still isn't a perfect solution. There are even some theories that suggest Han could secretly be the mastermind behind this technology and the company (Eteon), but that would be quite the turn for the character.
The truth is that F9 will likely have a difficult time finding a smart narrative explanation for Han's return. But, most viewers might not even care or expect that much. The Fast & Furious franchise has continued to lean further into spectacle over story, so as long Han is involved a few big action scenes, many will just be happy to see Han back no matter what explanation is given.
