Why Jason Statham Didn't Join The Fast & Furious Franchise Earlier

Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw has become an integral member of the "Fast & Furious" family. He's even received his own spinoff adventure at this point, having starred in 2019's "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw." It used to be a point of contention that the villainous mercenary turned Toretto family ally was forgiven so easily after being responsible for the death of fan-favorite Han (Sung Kang). "F9," however, somewhat cleared him of that charge real quick. Now, Deckard is just another member of the team, so much so it's easy to forget how explosive his first appearance was.

"Fast & Furious 6" was originally meant to serve as Han's final journey before the events of "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," where he initially met his end. So, when the mid-credits scene started replaying Han's deadly crash, it meant that something else was right around the corner. The electricity in the theater was palpable when it was revealed that Statham's Deckard was responsible for Han's demise and gunning for the Toretto gang in the next movie.

It's instances like this where a post-credit scene actually means something beyond a throwaway joke or half-hearted tease about another enigmatic space baddie that will get here eventually (cough, Knull, cough). For what it's worth, Deckard made a great villain in "Furious 7," swiftly setting the film's tone with his revenge-drive rampage in the very first scene. Nevertheless, Statham's inaugural appearance in the "Fast & Furious" franchise could have turned out quite differently.

Deckard emerges as a serious threat in retaliation to Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) being responsible for the supposed death of his brother Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). In a 2019 interview with CinemaBlend, Statham revealed that he could have been introduced as the villain in "Fast and Furious 6," presumably in Evans' role, but it made more sense to use him as an exciting button at the end:

"We had conversations even before ['Fast & Furious 6'] where, in the latter part of when they just finished ['Fast Five'], they wanted me to be in '6' and for some reason, the creative [choice] wasn't right for me, so they put me on at the end and here we are."

It appears everyone was on the right track with this decision. The mid-credits scene of "Fast Five" was already setting up the dramatic conflict of Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) being mysteriously discovered alive. Evans, likewise, made for a solid antagonistic force that didn't overshadow that story in the sixth film. Having Statham in there as that character would have felt like way too much going on, especially with his brand of action star power. He made considerably more sense as a tease for "Furious 7."

In hindsight, Statham's Deckard could've been the perfect high-profile villain for the "Fast & Furious" movies to go out on. Sure, we wouldn't have gotten Jason Momoa's queer-coded agent of chaos in "Fast X," but the "Fast & Furious" films would've ended on a high note with a real threat at the center of their final conflict.

"Fast and Furious 6" is currently streaming on Peacock.