Absolutely no one could have foreseen the effect of the official trailer for the ninth film in the Fast & Furious franchise.
Not only did it exceed every damn expectation, but it also blew fans away completely with the introduction of Dominic Toretto’s brother (John Cena) and the return of Han (Sung Kang).
Here was a character that came from Dom’s own bloodline but was determined to bury him. I mean, for one who talked so much on the importance of family, the bald-headed leader never thought he would face his own younger brother in a fight to the death.
Han’s return also shook fans and gave them the justice that they have been craving for as his resurrection to join the team as they face their most deadly foe yet takes the movie’s appeal to heavenly heights!
Also back for the ride is Jordana Brewster’s Mia, Dom’s younger sister who had to leave their world to settle down with her family. Her return raises a lot of questions that should be answered when F9: The Fast Saga premieres.
Speaking on the addition of the latest Toretto family member, director Justin Lin spoke on how using traditional bloodlines as the main source of the film’s antagonist was inspired.
The filmmaker also said the strength and discipline that emanated from John Cena made him the right choice of antagonist for Dom.
Again, a lot of the theme of family kind of reflects my immigrant story. I feel like my 10-year-old son growing up, he’s got Uncle Vin, Uncle Sung, and it’s not by blood. I feel like our family is truly this earned relationship. But at the same time, it’s one thing we have not explored through bloodline. And Michael Rooker, who is in this movie, said it best when he came and we were talking about the film, he said some of the bloodiest fights he’s seen in his life were either at funerals or weddings. And that’s something that really excited me when the idea came to me, that we could really start this new chapter exploring family through the traditional bloodlines. But then the next emotional beat for me was that I was kind of scared s—less of like, “Well, who is going to be a Toretto?!” And I was so relieved when I sat down with John, and within a minute of talking to him you could feel the strength and discipline, but also the fact that he could be vulnerable. He was just a pleasure to work with, and I really do think he’s going to bring a lot as the antagonist to Dom.Justin Lin – joblo.com
On the return of Kang as Han, Lin noted:
To be honest, when we first started, the community of Fast was not the community that it is today. I feel like, together, every kind of connection with the audience, we had to earn. With these sequels, sometimes people take it for granted and think it’s just going to happen; I always think we have to earn the next one. And so to be able to go through that journey with Han… when I left, I felt it was appropriate and I felt like we were putting the character to bed, but it’s because of some of the things that happened that didn’t quite make sense to me, and so I felt like if I was going to come back, I really wanted to explore why. I think it’s really up to us to bring him back and explore it throughout the themes that we’re all used to.
In this world, I feel like things happen for a reason. I won’t go into details or anything, but I do think that bringing him back is nothing I take lightly — and it took a lot — but I think what I appreciate is that this universe has really grown and it allows us to evolve and really kind of redefine ourselves as we go.
The explosively mind-blowing action seen in the trailer also gives audiences a tease of how insane the movie will be, with the adrenaline-charged sequences showing how adept Lin is when it comes to pleasing action fans.
He declared:
The one thing that I take a lot of pride in is really scaring the crap out of my crew. [Laughs] When we have these production meetings and I’m sitting there in front of people and describing what we are about to do, I love that kind of nervous silence before we all focus and figure out how we’re going to do it.
Personally, I feel that good action sequences are nothing if you don’t have a connection with these characters, and one of the big things I wanted to do coming back was elevate and really push growth in every character. And so when we went to Phuket and found the location, I felt like that was really appropriate for that sequence, to catch the audiences up with the state of each character. And, of course, I like to push our characters into really impossible situations and have how they get out of it define who they are at that moment.
The official synopsis of F9: The Fast Saga reads:
Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto is leading a quiet life off the grid with Letty and his son, little Brian, but they know that danger always lurks just over their peaceful horizon. This time, that threat will force Dom to confront the sins of his past if he’s going to save those he loves most. His crew joins together to stop a world-shattering plot led by the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they’ve ever encountered: a man who also happens to be Dom’s forsaken brother, Jakob (John Cena). F9 sees the return of Justin Lin as director, who helmed the third, fourth, fifth and sixth chapters of the series when it transformed into a global blockbuster. The action hurtles around the globe—from London to Tokyo, from Central America to Edinburgh, and from a secret bunker in Azerbaijan to the teeming streets of Tblisi. Along the way, old friends will be resurrected, old foes will return, history will be rewritten, and the true meaning of family will be tested like never before.
See the official trailer below:
