Fast & Furious: How Gisele Could Have Survived, Explained

Somehow Gisele returned. Here's how Gal Gadot's character was able to appear in Fast X.

Realism and Fast & Furious haven't gone exactly hand in hand. Dom Toretto's crew have jumped out of skyscrapers, conducted ridiculous heists, and have even driven a car in outer space. Characters have emerged from impossible situations alive and also been brought back from the dead, including Letty Ortiz, Owen Shaw, and Han Lue. Fast X has now resurrected Gal Gadot's character, Gisele Yashar, after she fell to her death in 2013's Fast & Furious 6.

Despite having fallen from a plane in midair, Gisele appeared not to have sustained any permanent injuries. She was absent from the three films following Fast & Furious 6 (four including Tokyo Drift), during which she was not in contact with Dom's crew. With her sudden revival, the Fast & Furious franchise has reminded fans to not overthink the films and to simply enjoy the ride. But for those who need an explanation for Gisele's return, here's a look at how she might have been able to appear in Fast X.

The spin-off film, Hobbs & Shaw, introduced superhumans to the world of Fast & Furious back in 2019. After surviving a bullet to the head from Deckard Shaw, Brixton Lore (Idris Elba) received cybernetic enhancements and became a super soldier. He was able to run at incredible speeds, dodge bullets at point-blank range, and punch through steel without breaking his hand. The Hobbs & Shaw villain was also bulletproof, leading to his self-assigned alias of "Black Superman."

Gadot portrayed Wonder Woman in the DCEU, but her Fast & Furious character has always been human. It's possible this has now been retconned to explain how she survived the events of Fast & Furious 6. If Gisele had received cybernetic enhancements similar to Brixton's, she easily would have been able to survive her fall. It's also possible she was the recipient of a super soldier serum, which could serve as a plot device in the franchise's final installments.

Related: Keanu Reeves was Replaced by Alan Ritchson as a Villain in Fast X

F9 brought Han back from the dead by recontextualizing his death scene in Tokyo Drift as a set-up by Mr. Nobody. What appeared to be Han trapped in a Mazda RX-7 was actually a hologram, with the hologram disappearing moments before the car exploded. The real Han watched from a distance with Mr. Nobody, describing the scene as a "pretty nifty magic trick." But rather than reuniting with Dom's crew, he chose to spend the years leading up to F9 working in the shadows.

Gisele held Han's hand and fired a gun right before her death in Fast & Furious 6, so her faking her death using a hologram can be ruled out. With that being said, she could have used an android that resembled her, something akin to an LMD or "Life-Model Decoy" from Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Vin Diesel has already revealed that a Fast X sequel will deal with the topic of AI, which will be explored through a character he hopes Robert Downey Jr. will play. Perhaps Gisele was involved with the character's AI projects during her time off-screen.

Related: Dwayne Johnson to Return for Another Standalone Fast & Furious Movie

The idea that Gisele used an AI to fake her death might sound ridiculous, but her returning after Fast & Furious 6 is even more so. If tech is used to explain how she survived, the franchise might use it to simply bring Gisele back and do nothing with it afterwards. Holograms would be useful in many different situations, and yet, they have never been utilized in the franchise other than to fake Han's death.

The antagonist of Fast & Furious 6, Owen Shaw, was thrown from a moving plane and hit the runway. He suffered serious injuries and was forced to sit out Furious 7, but by The Fate of the Furious, he had recovered and went on to help rescue Dom's son from Cipher. Fast & Furious 11 and 12 could potentially reveal that Gisele, like Owen, simply survived, and waste no time in trying to make it make sense. What she has been doing in between Fast & Furious 6 and Fast X, and why she never contacted Dom's crew, is more important than how she survived.

Han was clearly devastated when Gisele "died," so he could not have initially known that she survived the events of Fast & Furious 6. However, he could have learned about her survival at any time afterwards. Han kept his survival a secret from his friends for several years, so he likely would have had no problem keeping Gisele's status a secret as well. F9 featured a flashback of Mr. Nobody, implying that he had faked people's deaths before Han's, leaving the door open for one of those people to be Gisele.

At the beginning of Fast X, Roman, Ramsey, and Tej watched as Han used a dating app. He appeared to not be very interested, which could have been because he knew that Gisele was still alive. Having both Han and Gisele work for Mr. Nobody would be the best way of connecting the two characters after both of their "deaths." To protect the people around them and ensure the secrecy of their missions, they may have had little to no contact over the years, setting the stage for a reunion in Fast & Furious 11 and 12.

A storyteller, Matthew Kang has written for MovieWeb, Fan Expo, Buffer Festival, and popular YouTube channels. His first experience at the cinema involved falling asleep during a screening of Disney's Dinosaur.