Will Sung Kang Return as Han in Fast and Furious 9?

We already know that the eighth installment of theFast and Furious franchise,The Fate of the Furious, arriving next weekend, will set up the final trilogy, withFast & Furious 9arriving on August 07, 2025 andFast & Furious 10bringing the franchise to a close on August 11, 2025. The franchise has had a unique timeline, with characters such as Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) coming back from the dead, while others like Brian O’Connor, played by the latePaul Walker, were given a fitting tribute. Still, seemingly anything is possible in this high-octane universe, and now it seems we may be seeing another deceased character,Sung Kang’s Han, a.k.a. “Han Seoul-Oh” on the big screen inFast & Furious 9.

Sung Kang’s Han was killed at the end of 2006’sThe Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, but he then returned in 2009’sFast & Furious, 2011’sFast Fiveand 2013’sFast & Furious 6, when it was revealed that the last three movies actually took place beforeTokyo Drift, with the end ofFast & Furious 6revealing thatJason Statham’s Deckard Shaw killed Han, before callingVin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto, which set upFurious 7. During a new interview with/Film, writerChris Morgan, who has written everyFast & Furiousmovie except for the first two, revealed that he actually has been thinking about finding ways to bring Han back into the fold.

“Now, that’s funny because I’ve actually been thinking about that a lot. So it’s interesting that you and I are on the same wavelength there. But I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out. I love Sung, he’s one of my favorite people on the planet.”

What’s even more interesting about the character is thatSung Kangfirst played him a few years earlier inJustin Lin’s directorial debut, 2002’sBetter Luck Tomorrow.Sung Kang’s character in that film is named “Han Hu,” a chain-smoking theif, with bothJustin LinandSung Kangconfirming that Han Hu is the same Han that debuts inTokyo Drift, although he had quit smoking. The “Han Seoul-Oh” pseudonym, a reference to belovedStar Warscharacter Han Solo, has also been confirmed as a fake name, so his last name is never revealed. It’s possible that his past could still somehow tie into the last few movies in this franchise, but we’ll have to wait and see whatChris Morgancomes up with for the final two sequels.

While it seems highly unlikely that Han would have survived the explosion inFast & Furious 6/Tokyo Drift, it’s possible that there may be a flashback of sorts. /Film believes that he won’t be brought back from the dead, likeMichelle Rodriguez’s Letty, since a majority of the story told inFurious 7revolves around Dom’s crew and their reaction to Han’s death. Perhaps there could be a flashback that explains the Han Seoul-Oh pseudonym, with his real identity somehow tying into the plot of the last two movies, and the missions that Dom and his crew may have to undertake. While it is believed thatChris Morganwill be back to writeFast & Furious 9and the finaleFast & Furious 10, it is not clear who will direct this final installments, but this franchise may go full circle in this respect as well.

Vin Dieselrevealed back in October 2015 that he wanted to bring back directorRob Cohen, who was at the helm for the very first installment of this franchise, 2001’sThe Fast and the Furious, forFast & Furious 8. While that didn’t happen, with the studio choosingF. Gary Gray, the actor revealed that both he and the latePaul Walkerwanted to bringRob Cohenback to direct one more movie. With just two movies left in this iconic franchise, it’s possible there may be a push to getRob Cohenback to directFast & Furious 9orFast & Furious 10, but that hasn’t been confirmed.