Seoul-oh: A Fast & Furious Story
SUNG KANG and JUSTIN LIN on how Han Seoul-oh became the unlikely breakout star of the Fast & Furious franchise
SORRY, VIN. APOLOGIES, The Rock. Hard lines, The Stath. The most compelling character in the Fast & Furious franchise isn’t a muscle-bound, muscle-car-driving behemoth, but a laidback, laconic, South Korean car thief who might not be the best Han in cinema, but is definitely runnerup. Sung Kang’s Han joined the franchise, with director Justin Lin, in the third instalment, Tokyo
Drift, and despite dying (twice!), proved popular enough to be resurrected for latest entry Fast & Furious 9: The Fast Saga. We caught up with Kang and Lin to deep dive into Han’s handiest moments.
MEET HAN (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT)
When Lin needed a streetwise mentor for the film’s hero, Sean (Lucas Black), his thoughts turned to Kang, with whom he had worked on Better Luck Tomorrow. That character’s name? Han
Lin: I feel like they’re the same character. It was almost a little wink-wink to myself, but through time he became more literal as Han. Doing the rewrites on [Tokyo Drift], there was a character I wanted, and I kept thinking about Han. It came off Better Luck Tomorrow, where everybody kept asking, “What happened to these characters?” So I felt it was a great match. I didn’t think it was going to catch on.
HAN’S LIFE LESSON (TOKYO DRIFT)
In a standout speech, Han spells out his philosophy to Sean. “Life’s simple. You make choices and you don’t look back.”
Kang: I felt I was still too young as a man to even understand that. In theory, on paper, it all sounds nice, but you have to live life. Now, as an older man, I identify with and understand those words a lot more.
Lin: What I love about Han is that there’s this pragmatic approach to the journey of life. When things are good, you enjoy the moment, but you know it’s gonna pass. When things are bad, it’s an opportunity for you to grow and
learn. I have a 12-year-old and I literally just had that conversation with him last weekend.
HAN DIES (THE FIRST TIME) (TOKYO DRIFT)
A shocker in Tokyo Drift, as Han is suddenly killed by a rogue car
Kang: It was my first death scene in a film, so I was really looking forward to this dramatic death. And it felt right for the Lucas Black character to have his mentor pass away. Lin: That hurt, but that was the intention.
Kang: To be brought back twice is a true honour. That’s stuff you write about in your biography when you’re an old man.
HAN MEETS GISELE (FAST & FURIOUS 5)
Han appeared in the next three Fast & Furious films, all directed by Lin, who contorted the series’ time frame in order to keep him alive. In 2011’s Fast 5, he meets and quickly falls for Gal Gadot’s Gisele
Kang: My conversations with Justin back then were like, “Why are these two characters all of a sudden smitten?” But Justin felt that relationship was something that, aside from all the car chases and cool action sequences, grounds the movie. Romance is universal, right?
THE DEATH OF GISELE (FAST & FURIOUS 6)
A pivotal moment. On the world’s longest runway, Gisele sacrifices herself so that Han might live
Kang: Gal and I became such great friends, it felt like I was gonna say goodbye to my sister, in a way. But that stuff was a week of greenscreen work and dangling from wires, trying to be romantic. That was the last time I ever volunteered to do my own stunts.
Lin: It did feel like it was appropriate. I knew we were going to have the tag [with Han’s death]. And in life, when things just keep going on sometimes, it’s not as magical. But I feel that the Han and Gisele relationship is very full, and I hope that one day we will be able to tell that story.
Kang: Wherever she went, we don’t know. She might have rolled off the runway and into a coffee shop.
HAN DIES (AGAIN) (FAST & FURIOUS 6) At the end of what was then Lin’s final F&F film, Han returns to Tokyo for a date with destiny. This time, we get to
learn the identify of his killer — Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw
Lin: I was thinking of the tag and I wanted to kind of wrap everything up. I don’t think it was me wanting to be selfish and destroy Sung’s livelihood! But if I was going to leave the franchise, I wanted to put it in a better place than when I found it.
Kang: I didn’t even see Statham. They repurposed some of the shots and angles used in Tokyo Drift. But for me it was awesome that it was Statham. We’d worked on a film called War [actually released after Tokyo Drift], and at the airport leaving Vancouver, he asked me what I was doing next. I said, “I’m doing this movie called Tokyo Drift.” Years later, he’s the dude that takes me out!
WHAT’S IN A NAME? (FAST & FURIOUS 7)
In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, a computer screen tells us that Han’s last name is Seoul-oh. Han Seoul-oh. Geddit?
Lin: I can say this officially. The Han Seoul-oh of it, that was an inside joke for us. It’s Han something, but we don’t know [his last name]. Someone said it was Han Lue, but I don’t know where that came from.
HAN RETURNS (FAST & FURIOUS 9: THE FAST SAGA)
With Lin returning to the franchise, could Han be far behind? No. As it turns out, he faked his death in Tokyo, lying low until the moment when he reunites with Dom Toretto and the ‘family’
Kang: That was my first day of production, the first day I got to see the cast again after all those years. It was very emotional. Vin gave me a big hug.
Lin: I remember the first take. I pulled Sung aside and said, “That feels more like Sung than Han,” and he understood right away. So we just clicked back in.
HAN MEETS SHAW (FAST & FURIOUS 9: THE FAST SAGA)
F9’s post-credit sting sees Han show up at the door of Deckard Shaw, the man who thought he’d killed Han. Spin-off, anyone?
Lin: I’m going to go back to my office to work on stuff that’s been talked about for so long. My hope is that with Han, and the other characters, we can explore them and tell their stories. [Empire asks him not to kill Han again] No promises! FAST & FURIOUS 9: THE FAST SAGA IS OUT NOW ON DVD, BLU-RAY AND DIGITAL