Hobbs & Shaw writer assures fans will get justice for Han down the road

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Fans of the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise had a new villain to root against when at the end of FAST 6 it was revealed the Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw was behind the wheel of the car that killed fan-favorite character, Sung Kang’s Han Seoul-Oh. After being made the big bad in FURIOUS 7 and then an ally in FATE OF THE FURIOUS, fans are now in a position where they have to root for Shaw as one of the title heroes in HOBBS AND SHAW. But many do not forgive or forget and have taken to social media to demand justice for Han, which the writer behind many of the FAST movies, Chris Morgan, assures is coming down the road.

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Morgan, who started with the series on the third entry – TOKYO DRIFT, which introduced Han – and continues with HOBBS & SHAW first spoke with EW about the online campaign. He said that part of Shaw’s arc in this new movie is about him starting to come to terms with what he’s done in the past, and how his action here about making up for all of it.

“I love ‘justice for Han. Sung Kang is a great friend, and Han is a character that I adore. I would say that the super-arc for Deckard Shaw is going to be one of the most interesting, cool, rewarding character arcs in the franchise. Justice for Han is owed. It’s something we have discussed for a very long time and want to give the right due to. I think the audience will be satisfied and should know it’s coming. There’s a line in Hobbs & Shaw that is right before the battle in Samoa where Shaw says to his sister, ‘There’s things I’ve done that I have to make amends for.’ That line was specifically written and put in there just to let everyone know that he is talking about Han — it is on his mind. It tortures him, and he’s going to get to it.”

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Morgan doubled down on the sentiments when speaking to /Film, reaffirming that Shaw will have “one of the greatest arcs of the Fast franchise.” He went into that more, saying Shaw’s development will be focused on redemption, and having him make amends and give Han the justice he deserves is all about telling the right story.

Shaw is going to have one of the greatest arcs of the Fast franchise. It is something that we’ve been talking so long and so much about that we want to be able to devote enough time to it to make it really land. But his is an arc of redemption, of regret. You should just know, in terms of Justice for Han, nobody feels the need for that more than us. Especially Sung Kang as a friend, and we altered the entire timeline of the Fast universe to preserve for three additional movies. Believe me, we are the biggest fans, and I want to make sure that his stuff is resolved really well.

Having seen the movie I can say that part of Shaw's arc is certainly geared towards setting him down the path of redemption, with things coming to light that shows him to not be not the villain he's been in the past. I can't say the line Morgan talks about in the first quote has a ton of weight, and it comes off as a more casual exchange than one that has specific meaning fans will take to heart, but it certainly is a small sign in the right direction.

But as I mention in my own review (above), the movie spends more time being its own thing than that it doesn't pay a lot of mind to past movies. The matter of Han doesn't even come up directly, even though it's a key reason why Shaw's here in the first place. Still, Morgan and everyone involved seem to be taking the Justice for Han movement seriously, and it could be only a matter of time before Shaw is having to come to terms with what he's done. 

HOBBS & SHAW is in theaters August 2.