Justice is finally here.
By the time the end credits rolled, Han seemed to be dead.
But he reappeared again (and again…and again) in the next threeF&Finstallments from Lin.
Illustration by Kevin Tong for EW
Irate fans began demanding “justice for Han.”
Is it wild to think about how far you’ve come with him?
JUSTIN LIN:For me, it is one of the perks of not being alone on this.
Sung Kang, Jason Tobin, and Parry Shen in ‘Better Luck Tomorrow.'.Everett Collection
So we always had that context with our journey.
And I’m like, “Wow, this is like a whole company here.”
And I open it up and go, “Justin, you got free Snapple!
Justin Lin, Sung Kang, and Brian Tee on the set of ‘The Fast and The Furious - Tokyo Drift.'.Sidney Baldwin/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock
We’ve come a long way.
You got Snapple and four chairs in the room.
We made it, dude.”
Sung Kang as Han in ‘Fast & Furious 6.'.Giles Keyte/Universal
ByF9you probably had a whole kitchen of Snapple!
What was it originally that drew you to this character inBetter Luck Tomorrow?
LIN:It felt like it was meant to be.
Sung Kang and Vin Diesel in ‘F9.'.Giles Keyte/Universal
We would have missed each other."
And so it really felt like it was meant to be.
Getting to know the Sung, we were able to build the character off of him.
But the truth is that Sung is actually the opposite of Han in most respects.
And that became part of our fun in designing this character.
There’s a lot of stuff that just became shorthand between Justin and I over the years.
Because I would say I’m probably less like Han and Justin is more like Han.
KANG:[Laughs] That’s a nice balance.
How did we even get Han in the world ofFast?
So how did we go from there to, not only Sung inTokyo Drift, but playing Han?
LIN:It’s interesting, because Han didn’t exist when I first signed up.
And the more I developed this other character, the more I kept going back to the Han.
It became very natural, and also just coming off this other journey, it became a perfect convergence.
KANG:I didn’t know what he had in mind for the character.
I was just more enthusiastic and excited that we get to go on another journey together.
Like Justin said earlier, how awesome is it that you’re not alone?
You have a friend and you get to go on this journey together.
[Laughs] So it’s not that bad.
I guess Vin’s short filmLos Bandoleroswould technically be his entry point.
And Vin kind of ran off with it.
InLos Bandoleros, he put Han in there, and it was off of our conversation.
Did that moment resonate just as strongly with you?
KANG:When Justin puts his mind to something, he goes after it.
Prior to that experience, I don’t think he was waking up thinking about the nextFastmovie.
And they’re not saying, “Oh, it’s the Asian guy.”
No, it’s Han, my friend.
I think that’s something that was really special.
I felt like what a shame to just kind of discard that.
And it’s never pandering, it’s always just existing.
It’s trying to really embrace that moment and put that character in it.
I’m very blessed.
And I hadn’t seen7or8, so I was really baffled by it.
And I’m like, no, “justice For Han” is not that.
KANG:There’s something deeper behind “justice for Han “than just bringing a character back.
That’s a gimmick.
And when I dissect it, I go, “Why?
Why was this hashtag started?
Why did the fans need to rally behind this?”
It’s simple: it’s justice for whoever’s out there.
And they want to fix something that is unsettled in their stomach.”
You don’t discard your family, you have to address the issues, and then you move on.
What were the conversations like between you two when you were deciding to go forth and do this?
LIN:I actually held off connecting with Sung for awhile.
I thin it would’ve just been emotionally scarring and it was not an easy thing.
Creatively, I was just going through so many different iterations.
It was always trying to earn our moments.
KANG:It’s refreshing when Justin calls you and tells you that Han is coming back.
The rest is just excitement.
It’s like, “All right, we get to go to the playground again and play.”
Like imagine if you were just sitting around having to keep that secret.
Was that a relief when you got the word they weren’t holding that back?
KANG:It really was.
You should have just held it.”
That’s how life works.
LIN:My 11-year-old son still thinks that we should have held off the Han reveal.
KANG:Because he’s smart.
He’s gonna work PR.
It’s tough though to keep secrets now.
Feels like that would have gotten out immediately after that first screening.
Other than not getting party invites, what was it like that first day back on set?
KANG:It’s nerve-wracking, because all your insecurities are being projected out of your head.
In your heart, you’re going, “Am I going to be accepted again?
What’s the vibe going to be like?”
And you show up to set and it was like I never left.
The laughs started happening, the hugs are throughout the day, and you just find your shorthand again.
I have to give credit to Justin and the producers and Vin and everybody that dictated a positive vibe.
It’s always open arms and a dysfunctional family vibe going on.
I felt very lucky that I could go back to a franchise and be accepted like that.
LIN:F9is the beginning of sharing some of the experience that he’s gone through.
I’ve always said one film is not enough to do justice.
Some good, some hard; we all deal with life’s issues.
Why is he coming back?
Where’s he been?
What’s he doing now?
What’s his state of mind now?
Justin, do you feel like you’ve played the last revival card that you have?
We’ve got Letty back, we got Han back a few times.
LIN:This is a setup, isn’t it?
But I do know that whatever we want to do, we have to earn it.
And so it’s been a very unique journey.
But it’s also great to know that that’s not off the table.
But as things start to clear up, this is important to cinema, arts, museums.
Gathering together is so crucial to our state of being.
It’s the perfect recipe to open things up.
It’s definitely my perfect recipe, so I can’t wait.
Thanks as always, guys.
LIN:Wait, Derek, can I just share one last thing?
And I know that part of it was onFast Five, it was Han Solo.
Somehow everyone thought that was his name.
Just Han, like Cher or Madonna.
LIN:One day we might reveal his last name, but right now it’s just officially Han.
