‘F9’: The Ending Explained and What it Means for ‘The Fast and the Furious’ Saga
F9 is finally here and we know there are at least two more Fast and the Furious movies in the works. Justin Lin is attached to direct a two part finale. Of course, every franchise that declared a final chapter ultimately went on to produce more sequels. Just ask Friday the 13th which has two final chapters, neither of which are the last ones. So, what does the ending of F9 mean for the Fast Saga?
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for F9.]
What happens at the end of the latest ‘Fast and the Furious’ movie?
F9 introduced Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel)’s long lost brother, Jakob (John Cena). After their father’s death, Dom and Jakob went separate ways. Now they’re adversaries racing to find a device Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) was trying to keep safe. The latest Fast and the Furious adventure also reveals more of the Toretto past.
By the end, Dom has come to understand Jakob and their father were protecting him from knowing the full extent of their financial troubles, and their willingness to take a dive in a race to make money. Cipher (Charlize Theron) turned on Jakob anyway, so he teamed up with Dom’s family to take her vehicles down.
That still won’t clear Jakob with the law, though. So Dom gives Jakob the keys to his Dodge Charger, just like Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) gave Dom his car to get away at the end of the original Fast and the Furious. Now that they’ve put the past behind them, expect Jakob to turn up again.
Who is pulling up at the barbecue at the end of ‘F9’?
After saving the day once again in F9, the Torettos host one of their traditional family barbecues. They’re also rebuilding theri house after it blew up in Furious Seven. Dom asks his son, Little Brian (Isaac Holtane), to say grace, a tradition at Fast and the Furious meals. Hopefully this means Little Brian will grow up to be a fast and furious driver soon. There is one seat missing, though. Dom won’t serve the food until everyone is there.
A blue car pulls up right before F9 fades to black. That’s Brian in a car he’s driven in previous movies. He’s also crashed it but so has Dom in his Dodge Charger and they manage to keep fixing it up. Obviously, they can’t show Brian getting out of the car because Walker died in 2013, but it’s nice to know Brian is still attending the Toretto barbecues.
Perhaps this means the last two Fast Saga films will get bolder about including Brian in the story. Walker’s brothers helped finish his scenes in Furious Seven but it would probably be bad form to continue using them to insert him into scenes. Brain can still operate behind the scenes though.
The ‘F9’ mid-credits scene explained
There is one more scene in F9 that comes in the middle of the credits. Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) is working out with a heavy bag. By this time, Shaw has redeemed himself somewhat, rescuing Dom’s son in The Fate of the Furious and getting his own spinoff with Hobbs. But there’s a knock on his door and it’s Han.
Han was presumed dead in a street chase in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Furious 6 revealed Shaw as the driver of the car that crashed into him. But, F9 explained that Han was working for Mr. Nobody and faked his death. Still, Shaw didn’t know that and meant to kill him.
What Han and Shaw talk about remains to be seen in The Fast and the Furious 10. People who wanted #Justice4Han will surely want to know. The idea of turning Han’s killer into a good guy didn’t sit well with them. Is it possible Shaw was working with Mr. Nobody all along so he knew he wasn’t really killing Han? That wouldn’t jibe with most of Furious Seven but who knows?
