WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for F9, now in theaters.
It's no surprise The Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift is the most neglected film in the series, as it didn't really involve Paul Walker's Brian or Vin Diesel's Dom. Instead, it focused on Lucas Black's Sean as he navigated the dangerous Japanese street-racing scene. Upon its release, fans felt it was out of place, though since Han (Sun Kang) became a bigger part of Team Toretto, that sentiment has eased up. However, despite all those criticisms, Tokyo Drift is fully redeemed in F9, ensuring its crew is a vital part of the franchise.
After the "Justice for Han" movement started following Deckard Shaw's redemption, the powers that be within the Fast & Furious decided to revive Kang's character in F9. Letty and Mia discover him in Tokyo, and, after reuniting with the rest of the crew, he tells them he faked his death after working as a spy for Mr. Nobody. He went into hiding to protect Elle, a girl whose parents created a dangerous weapon known as Ares, putting a wrap not just on his Tokyo life, but also his spot on Dom's crew.
In that sense, Han has been crucial to global safety since his "death," which on its own helps make the third act of Tokyo Drift feel more important. But F9 takes things a step further by also honoring the crew Han was rolling with in the 2006 film, showing how far they've come and matured in their lives.
In need of something to disable the Ares satellite, Dom sends Roman and Tej to Sean, who's found driving a rocket car. Bow Wow's Twinkie and Jason Tobin's Earl as Sean's engineers, and they're no longer interested in the glam and girls of the drifting scene, being more focused on the art and mechanics behind fast cars. Roman and Tej are hesitant to trust them at first, but Team Tokyo provides creative inspiration, which leads to the new and improved rocket-car that goes into space and destroys the satellite.
Having helped save the world, Sean, Twinkie and Earl are now just as important to the story as Han, adding even more backing to Tokyo Drift's place in the franchise. And to top it all off, during F9's BBQ scene, which has become a staple of the franchise, Sean, Twinkie and Earl are all in attendance, and Sean even gets the chance to reunite with Han. Tokyo Drift may have been a failed attempt at a spin-off series at the time, but it's since become a crucial moment in the Fast & Furious story.
Directed by Justin Lin, F9 stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell and Charlize Theron. The film is in theaters now.
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