Movies

'Fast And Furious' Actress Michelle Rodriguez Says Writer Chris Morgan "Has Absolutely Nothing To Do With" Where The "Justice For Han" Narrative Is Going

michelle rodriguez justice for han
By Ben Pearson

There's more trouble brewing in the Fast and Furious family.

Michelle Rodriguez, who plays Letty, has voiced her displeasure with the way the franchise has treated its female characters in the past, though she seemed to resolve that dispute earlier this year. But now she's taken to Twitter to dismiss the contributions of writer/producer Chris Morgan, who has been the architect of the Fast franchise since 2006's The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Specifically, Rodriguez says that Morgan has nothing to do with the "Justice for Han" narrative. Take a look at her comment below.

There's so much to dig into there, but let's start with a quick recap of what the "Justice for Han" thing is all about. Sung Kang's character, Han Lue (aka Han Seoul-Oh), was introduced and killed off in Tokyo Drift, but the timeline was altered so Han could appear in the next three movies before the storyline finally revealed that it was Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw who was responsible for Han's death. Shaw helped out Dom and his crew and was embraced as part of the #family with little attention paid by the characters to the fact that Shaw murdered one of their own. Fans who have followed the Fast franchise since the beginning took issue with the way that Shaw seemingly got a pass in that regard, and so the Justice for Han movement was born, hoping that one day Shaw will have to face some consequences for his crime.

On to Rodriguez's comment. For her to say that Chris Morgan "has absolutely nothing to do with where this narrative is" is patently false: as the sole writer of every single Fast movie involving Han, Morgan was literally the person who crafted that narrative.

As for Morgan not having anything to do with "where it's going," here's where things get interesting: Fast 9 is the first movie in the franchise since 2006 that Morgan is not writing, and production on that film is already underway. If Han somehow returns in Fast 9, I can kind of see where Rodriguez is coming from with that remark.

But even if that's the case, the idea that Morgan would have nothing to do with Han's return seems unlikely. I just interviewed him for Hobbs and Shaw, and he directly addressed the Justice for Han controversy:

"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...Han is one of my favorite characters. He started my Fast journey with me in terms of the character and also Sung, you know? That character has been a constant for me, one of my very favorite characters, and someone that I think about often, and exactly how we lay out whatever we reveal in the future with him."

Morgan has been thinking about Han's arc for years, which indicates that he's much more attuned to that particular plotline than Rodriguez claims. The big question for me is, will we see Han pop up again in the traditional saga movies, either Fast 9 or Fast 10, so fans of the core franchise will get closure and see Han get the justice he deserves? Or will that subplot shift over to a Hobbs and Shaw sequel instead, potentially putting more of a focus on the way Shaw himself has to deal with what he's done?

Still, it sounds like Rodriguez doesn't necessarily harbor any ill will toward Hobbs and Shaw:

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