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Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Fast X.Despite being a supporting character to Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and the rest of his team, Sung Kang’s Han Lue is one of the most beloved characters in the Fast & Furious franchise. Since his introduction in Tokyo Drift, fans have gravitated towards his cool charm and car drifting skills. But after his death under the hands of Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw in the Fast & Furious 6 post-credits scene, audiences have rallied behind the character. While Shaw was subsequently redeemed in The Fate of the Furious onwards, many felt his redemption wasn’t earned at the expense of Han. What was even more unfair was that Shaw got his own spin-off alongside Dwayne Johnson‘s Luke Hobbs in Hobbs & Shaw. So, it was only a matter of time before director Justin Lin brought back the character in F9, much to fans’ excitement. But Han’s return to the franchise hasn’t been the most rewarding either. While he gets a brief action scene in the latest entry Fast X, it conveniently wraps up the tension between Han and his murderer — he is cheated out of a true confrontation with Deckard Shaw. It seems like there’s more to Han’s story we have yet to see.
Admittedly, the Fast & Furious family has grown to epic proportions in the past few years. Especially with Fast X, which is actually part one of the franchise’s finale, it’s easy to see how the cast has become a bit too crowded. That isn’t to say that new characters like Brie Larson‘s Tess and Rita Moreno‘s Abuelita Toretto don’t make great additions to the franchise, or that newbie Jason Momoa doesn’t steal the show. But Han’s story shouldn’t be limited to the already crowded cast of the Fast movies. While Dwayne Johnson has announced that Hobbs will be getting, yet again, his own spin-off, he isn’t the most deserving. As the coolest character in the bunch and with the most interesting backstory and storyline, Han Lue deserves a spin-off of his own.
What Makes Fast & Furious’ Han Such a Great Character?
From his very first appearance in the franchise’s Tokyo Drift, Han has a subdued charm about him. A bit of a loner and a bit of a ladies’ man, Han made a name for himself as one of Tokyo’s acclaimed drifters. But he isn’t just cool behind the wheel of a car. In the later Fast & Furious installments, Han is merely an outside observer while the rest of the crew comes up with their plans for various heists. While the bigger personalities like Dominic Toretto, Luke Hobbs, Roman (Tyrese Gibson), and Tej (Ludacris) argue about their next mission, Han keeps snacking on his potato chips in his calm and measured way. He doesn’t need to flex his muscles, raise his voice, or prove himself in a fight to demonstrate his manliness. While he might be in the background for many of these scenes, fans are always drawn to him.
It’s no surprise that when Han meets Gisele (Gal Gadot) in Fast Five, he has no trouble winning her heart. It helps that Giselle is also a skilled drifter in her own right. “I think I’m in love,” Han says as he watches Gisele clear corners just as well as he did when we saw him in Tokyo Drift. Perhaps Han learned from her and took those lessons with him to Tokyo where he planned to retire with her. While Dominic and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) as well as Brian (Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) are the more prominent couples in the franchise, Han’s relationship with Gisele is underrated. Gisele’s (supposed) death at the end of Fast & Furious 6 added another layer to Han’s character. We get a clearer sense as to why he’s a bit of a loner in Tokyo Drift and why he hasn’t given any other woman the same commitment. When he meets his death at the hands of Deckard Shaw, it’s no wonder why fans rallied for his justice. Han deserved the love of his life and a happier ending. He deserved justice. With his return in F9 and Gisele’s return at the end of Fast X, Han might finally get what he deserves.
Why Does Han Deserve a Fast & Furious Spin-off?
While he has become a fan favorite character through the Fast & Furious films, Han Lue actually first appeared in Justin Lin’s solo directorial debut in the 2002 film Better Luck Tomorrow. In it, Han recruits the help of local teenagers to steal computers and sell drugs in Orange Country, California. By the end of the film, Han flees California. Much like the first The Fast and the Furious, these heists were far from the outrageous car chases and action sequences of the later films. But fittingly, director Justin Lin would not only bring Sung Kang’s Han Lue into the Fast family, but it would be under Lin’s direction that the Fast & Furious films would become the larger-than-life action film franchise it has come to be (Lin directed Tokyo Drift thru Fast & Furious 6, and then F9).
Han also appeared in the short film Los Bandoleros, which was written and directed by Vin Diesel. In it, we get the first canonical appearance of Han Lue. Han met Dom in Mexico — supposedly where Dom fled after the events of The Fast and the Furious and where Han fled after Better Luck Tomorrow. We get a fuller sense of their friendship throughout the franchise’s story, so when Dom appears at the end of Tokyo Drift after Han’s “death,” it makes more sense.
With Better Luck Tomorrow and Los Bandoleros, there is already precedent for Han’s story to be explored outside of the main Fast & Furious films. And his story keeps growing. With his re-introduction in F9, we find out that Han was working for the Agency and Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) during the years he was supposedly dead. On one of those missions, he helped save a girl Elle (Anna Sawai), and raised her as his own. While this plot point is conveniently left out of Fast X, Han’s adventures with Elle could be explored in a potential spin-off. This could even help explain why he never reconnected with Dom and the rest of the crew after his supposed death.
Out of all the Fast & Furious characters, Han Lue deserves a movie of his own. With an already rich backstory, a spin-off film can further flesh out the connective tissue between the other films in the franchise, including Better Luck Tomorrow and Los Bandoleros. With his likely reunion with Gal Gadot’s Gisele in Fast X: Part II, a spin-off movie exploring Han and Giselle’s adventures between Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6, during which we could learn about their world travels together, could help make their reunion even more impactful. And who wouldn’t want more of Sung Kung’s performance as the character? Apart from his natural machismo, a spin-off could give Kang the opportunity to develop this character apart from the bigger personalities of the franchise. Even better, let Justin Lin direct it and give him the chance to bring his character full circle.
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