Warning: Contains SPOILERS for F9.
A surprise character's return in F9 may also explain why Coronas are back in the new Fast and Furious film. F9 is truly a movie about getting the family back together. In the film, Dominic Toretto's (Vin Diesel) previously unmentioned younger brother, Jakob Toretto (John Cena), comes from out of the shadows to be a major villain hellbent on controlling the world's weapons systems. In the process of Dom facing his family's uncomfortable past, other fan favorites from The Fast Saga also join the fray. Han (Sung Kang) returns from the dead, revealing he's been secretly alive the entire time, and Queenie Shaw (Helen Mirren) makes a short but memorable cameo.
F9 may be all about characters returning, but the previous film had one particularly noticeable absence. During the final cookout scene in The Fate of the Furious, Dom's crew is around the table drinking Budweiser and Stella. It's a weird scene. Though Budweiser, Stella, and Corona are all owned by AB InBev, the lime-adjacent beverage has been a part of Fast and Furious movies since the beginning. Corona is so engrossed in the Fast franchise that Budweiser and Stella seem like imposters in the scene. Though, it turns out there may be a reason the beer is missing from the film.
A surprise return in F9 may indicate why the Coronas are back in the movie. As per usual, F9 closes out with Toretto hosting a family cookout. However, unlike Fate of the Furious' rooftop cookout, this is taking place in LA at the site of his soon-to-be rebuilt house and Coronas are on the table. Before everyone digs in, Dom notes that a chair is still open. Apparently, someone is still on the way. Soon after Dom brings up the vacancy, Brian O'Conner's (Paul Walker) blue Nissan pulls up the driveway. The scene may add evidence to a Corona-inspired theory.
With Coronas being absent from The Fate of the Furious, a theory sprang up saying that the beer represents home and family in the Fast franchise. There are numerous examples in the films to back it up. The sans Vin Diesel sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious, doesn't feature the beer. However, when Dom's crew gathers around the table in Fast & Furious 6 to eat together and mourn the loss of Gisele (Gal Gadot), Coronas are all over the place. With Brian O'Conner being absent from Fate of the Furious following Paul Walker's tragic death, it makes sense that Corona is absent too. When O'Conner's car makes a cameo at the end of F9, the Coronas seem to indicate the family is back together.
Corona plays a pivotal part in the franchise. In the first Fast and Furious film, Dom tells Paul Walker's character, "You can have any brew you want, as long as its a Corona." And the movies have never looked back. Over the years, the beer repeatedly shows up whenever Dom's crew is celebrating or reconciling. At this point, Corona is basically a character itself. Like the theory states, it's part of the family.
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