Now in “F9,” Han makes the ultimate return — back in action and alive, in the present, thanks to a soapy twist explaining that his death had been faked all along.
How many pictures do you see of Han’s grave?” said Kang, who credits his return to the films in part to the “Justice for Han” fan campaign.
He’d been asked to return to reprise the role in 2017’s “Fate of the Furious” but says he felt the character would have been shoehorned in without good reason.
And with “F9″ opening a year later than planned due to the pandemic as audiences return to theaters after months of isolation, the sight of long-lost friends exchanging loaded emotional glances and embracing in bear hugs might hit even harder.
Five years later when he got the “Fast and Furious” directing gig, Lin brought Kang and Tobin with him — and shaped the sequel to include the kinds of atypical Asian American characters he wanted to see onscreen.
Lin had brought him into subsequent projects, including his 2007 indie “Finishing the Game” and the critically acclaimed Cinemax series “Warrior,” which Lin executive produces.
“Everyone’s a little older and they’re dads, and it’s cool to see the men who these guys have turned into,” said Kang.
Even for Kang, stepping onto a “Fast and Furious” set again after two films away felt a bit like walking into a high school cafeteria.
“A lot of them hadn’t worked with the other actors,” he said.
The ways Han, Sean and the rest of the “Tokyo Drift” crew are integrated back into “F9″ raises questions about what their characters were up to during the intervening sequels.
“I feel like ‘Fast 9′ is this weird Venn diagram.