Admit it: as a fan of The Fast and the Furious series of films, disbelief has officially been permanently suspended. Cars can fly, and sometimes the plots of the past need a little fudging to introduce a Jason Momoa-level threat in Fast X. But sometimes there’s an aspect — like the haircut on Sung Kang’s Han in one particular scene — that really brings the continuity into question. Strangely enough, the filmmakers knew they were playing with fact-based fire, but just rolled with it anyway.
Han Lue’s Hairy Fast And Furious Continuity Error
For those of you who love the death-defying driver introduced in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, you may have noticed something interesting in the newer 2023 movie release. In case you missed it, or were uncertain, yes Han’s hair does change between the two different versions of his reunion with previous foe Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham).
In the F9 mid-credits scene, the character has a pretty short cut on display when he makes the fateful visit; which technically takes place four years in the future. This timeline-questioning scene plays out in the middle of Fast X, with Han now sporting a longer head of hair. Half of the reason for this mix-up is because of a decision that Sung Kang made during the production of F9, which he revealed in an interview with Insider:
The reason I wanted Han’s hair to be short was that he’s in hiding, So if he’s walking around looking like Han it doesn’t really make any sense to the character. You cut his hair, he kind of blends in.
As if Han Lue’s Fast Saga history wasn’t already interesting enough, we as fans now have dueling hairstyles to keep track of. Sure enough, the decision to revert to Han’s classic look for Fast X was just as purposeful.
Why Fast X Rolled With That Han Error Anyway
It should be no surprise that Sung Kang was just as in the dark about when F9’s big Han and Shaw reunion took place on the timeline of events. In fact, it’s thanks to this scene that some major takeaways and theories about Fast X’s mid-credits scene have come to light, with its placement in the timeline being one of them.
So why would the actor bring his original hairstyle back for a scene that’s already established in the timeline? One reason: the fans. Here’s how he explains why his classic do was due to return:
I realized that there are a few things that people need from Han. They want snacks, they want cool cars, and they want his hair. The hair is almost like a superpower he has… It’s synonymous to what defines Han.
Thematically, this all tracks. Lue’s path from supposed death to resurrection has been a Fast Saga thread that’s caught the attention of fans since the Fast and Furious timeline started to skew in his favor in 2009’s Fast & Furious. That said, there was a conscious effort to try and hide this difference without cutting the actor’s hair again, which led to the following compromise:
Because everybody is OCD about their work and they’re into details, details are what matters, there were a lot of notes and discussion about, ‘Hey Han’s hair in the tag is short. How are we gonna do it?’ And we did these tests where you get really close with the tucked-in hair. It could kind of match.
As you can see in the photo above, put together from the Fast X trailer footage that showed Han’s return, that hair tuck is as close as things were going to get without digital magic. It’ll be interesting to see who noticed this continuity error and who didn’t, as it is a scene that leads quickly into an adrenaline-fueled showdown between The Agency’s finest and members of Dominic Toretto’s family.
So if you happen to stumble upon this scene down the line as this summer blockbuster heads home, know that it was all part of the plan. A plan that may now see Fast X’s narrative turn into one final trilogy, which could lead to even more hairstyle changes for Sung Kang and co.
You know you’re going to want to go back to F9 and watch that mid-credits sequence all over again, and that’s only natural. It’s also very easy to do, as at the time of this writing, you can catch the previous Fast Saga entry with access to a Max subscription. Next up, Fast and Furious 11 is revving up its engine and we’ll keep you posted every step of the way.