Fast & Furious 9's New Trailer Reveals More of Han's Return

• Fast & Furious 9's new premiere date is June 25, 2021.
  

• We can enjoy a new Fast 9 trailer until then, in which Han (Sung Kang) is back from the dead.

When The Fast and the Furious first debuted in 2001, it was a simple summer B-movie best described as "like Point Break, but instead of surfing, tricked-out Honda Civics drive under trucks." Yet the heist film, starring a then little-known Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, wildly exceeded box office expectations—and seven sequels later, the Fast & Furious universe has grown in scope, budgets, stunts, and cast size with every release.

We're approaching the 20th year of Fast & Furious movies, and there's every reason to believe that Universal Pictures will ride this behemoth 'til the wheels fall off. Our grandchildren may very well ask us to take them to Fast & Furious 26: Brian Marcos Drives in Space one day, and we should honestly be so lucky!

After many months of delays, Fast & Furious 9 finally has a true premiere date for June 2021, and a physics-defying new trailer. Two words: "Magnet plane." The extended trailer also shows plenty of its sprawling cast, full of new faces like John Cena as Dominic Toretto's brother, as well as returning ones like Sung Kang's Han (?!?).

Buckle up (but don't hit that NOS button too soon, Junior): Here's everything we know about Fast & Furious 9.

A new Fast & Furious 9 trailer dropped on April 14.

The latest Fast 9 trailer opens with scenes of the gang—sorry, family—reuniting on the farm where Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriquez) now live with Dom's son Brian. They have a great cookout, and then the credits roll.

Just kidding! The clip's remaining three minutes is a festival of delightful insanity featuring cliff jumps, a magnet plane, and many shots of Cena and Diesel exchanging very intense facial expressions. We get to see a bit more of Han, who's somehow back from his death in Tokyo Drift, and Helen Mirren's character finally gets to drive.

Fast & Furious 9's release date is in June. For real this time.

Originally set to hit theaters on May 22, 2020, it will now premiere on June 25, 2021.

The date is still a theatrical release, and there are no plans announced for a simultaneous debut on HBO Max, as Warners is doing with their theatrical releases through the year's end.

Sung Kang is back as Han.

In a shock revealed in the first trailer, Sung Kang is casually back despite having died onscreen at the end of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (which chronologically takes place after the events of Fast & Furious 6). We have a LOT of questions, but then, this is a franchise in which cars and people basically fly, so the answer could truly be anything!

And is the return of his love Gisele (Gal Gadot) too much to hope for?

The cast also includes John Cena as Dom's brother Jakob.

Dwayne Johnson and Ronda Rousey aren't the only WWE stars in the franchise anymore, as actor-wrestler John Cena has signed on. (Roman Reigns appears in Hobbs & Shaw, as well). Cena plays Jakob Toretto, a thief, assassin, and high-performance driver (obviously!), who happens to be Dom's estranged brother. As we see in the trailer, he'll work with Charlize Theron's Cipher, though we're not yet sure why he hates Dom so much.

Vin Diesel first shared the Cena-centric news with fans in a July 8, 2019, Instagram video.

Nearly every surviving member of Dominic Toretto's fictional chosen family will appear in the film, save for core founding member Brian O'Conner (due to Paul Walker's still-completely-upsetting accidental death in 2013). Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, and Nathalie Emmanuel are back as Dominic, Letty, Tej, Roman, and Ramsey. Even Tokyo Drift's Lucas Black and Shad Moss—or as you may know him, Bow Wow—are back to clink Coronas with the extended Family.

Another surprise is Jordana Brewster's return as Mia Toretto, Dominic's sister and the mother of Brian O'Conner's children. Brewster's character exited the franchise alongside Brian at the end of Furious 7, as a happy way to wrap up the late Walker's storyline. What that means for Brian's fate remains to be seen, though killing Brian off offscreen sounds too ice cold to be true.

Helen Mirren is back as Magdalene Shaw, classy criminal and mother of Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham). Also joining: Cardi B, Finn Cole of Animal Kingdom and Peaky Blinders, Anna Sawai, and The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Latin reggaeton singer Ozuna is joining as well.

Who is Fast & Furious 9's director?

Justin Lin is directing, and production began in June 2019. Lin's return to the franchise is exciting, as he has previously directed Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Fast & Furious 6.

Lin's updates from the set include a massive cast and crew pic, captioned "Fast Family." The photo also includes the car Vin Diesel was gifted for his birthday, a custom 1970 Dodge Charger. Diesel later gave Lin a present of his own: An on-set basketball hoop.

According to Vin Diesel, Lin will helm Fast & Furious 10 as well.

Where does the movie take place?

The franchise has taken its characters everywhere in the world, previously setting its high-octane stunts in places like Tokyo, Abu Dhabi, and Havana. This sequel will be no exception.

Filming kicked off on June 24, 2019, in England. In an interview with Access Hollywood, star and producer Vin Diesel suggested they'll shoot in Africa for the first time, and unconfirmed reports say it will be shot in Thailand as well.

On September 1, Diesel announced that the film was officially halfway through production. "Remember when I told you that there was gonna be a really intense scene?" he said in a behind-the-scenes video, standing in front of dozens of beautiful women clad in all-white and all-red outfits. Diesel deems it, quote, "a European take on an opulent version of a tuna party." Though he definitely says "tuna party" twice, whether that phrase makes it into the Fast 9 script remains to be seen.

Shooting wrapped in November 11, 2019. Director Justin Lin shared the news with a big thank you to everyone involved in the multi-city production. "It’s an official #F9 Wrap! This is by far the most ambitious film of the series and I am forever grateful to our amazing crew from London, Edinburgh, Tbilisi (Georgia), Phuket & Krabi (Thailand), and Los Angeles."

It’s an official #F9 Wrap! This is by far the most ambitious film of the series and I am forever grateful to our amazing crew from London, Edinburgh, Tbilisi (Georgia), Phuket & Krabi (Thailand), and Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/ggFGxwHuz7

— Justin Lin (@justinlin) November 11, 2019

Does Fast 9 recast the late Paul Walker's character?

Until his accidental death in 2013, Paul Walker played Brian O'Conner, undercover cop-turned-street racer-turned Toretto family member. Walker starred in six of the Fast franchise's first seven movies, until his character retired from the dangerous life of car heists to be a family man at the end of Furious 7 (his scenes were finished posthumously via CGI and his brothers, Caleb and Cody, standing in). But as of November 2019, rumors have surfaced that the film recasts Walker's character. If true, this choice is unequivocally bad and wrong.

The possibility first surfaced in a tweet from entertainment writer Daniel Richtman, who teased the scoop on November 3. "Just got a new casting grid for something and with it some big news that are sure to be controversial," he tweeted. "Not sure how I feel about it myself but we'll see." Two weeks later he spilled it: "They are bringing Paul Walker's character, Brian, to FF9."

News that Jordana Brewster, who's returning to Fast 9 as Brian's partner Mia Toretto, sparked worries that Brian would die offscreen. This is absolutely worse, if true—Universal has yet to confirm this rumor, and most outlets reporting it cite Richtman's tweets. Two things we know for sure: This franchise adores surprise cameos, and they love flashbacks too. The prospect of casting another stand-in for new Frankenstein-ed CGI scenes featuring Walker's Brian is gross; he already got the perfect goodbye in Furious 7. The idea of a brand-new Brian is grosser.

Walker brought a singular warmth and energy to the role of Brian O'Conner; he had my heart from the moment he rolled up in that 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse. As enjoyable as the previous film was, Walker was the glue that held the entire ensemble together. Here's to hoping this is all some terrible misunderstanding—we'll find out on June 25.

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