A top executive of NBC Universal Pictures has come out recently to debunk earlier rumors that the late actor Paul Walker’s character Brian O’Conner will again be featured in “Fast & Furious 8,” the same way it was done with the highly successful “Fast & Furious 7” released in April this year.
Ron Meyer, NBC Universal Vice Chairman, confirmed that Paul Walker will not be seen in the upcoming eighth installment of the popular movie franchise, quashing inaccurate speculations that the late actor will be seen reprising his character via CGI or another stand-up from his brother Cody, notes the International Business Times of UK.
In a recent interview, Meyer said that Paul will not be in “Fast & Furious 8” but the actor’s character will be represented in some form or another.
Whether his image is in the movie or not, Meyer refuses to say. However, he stated for the record that Paul will not be in the film as a performer or as an actor the way they did it the last time, notes the Ecumenical News.
Meyer said that the next movie will still be “Fast & Furious” but it will be without Paul for the first time.
Dominic Toretto in the spinoff
“Fast & Furious 8” is the beginning of the final trilogy to end the franchise on a very successful and high note.
However, as a cash cow that it is, reports have it that the producers are seriously contemplating of coming out with spinoffs and prequels to the franchise.
Vin Diesel, in an interview, said that “Fast & Furious 8” may be the start of the trilogy to conclude the film franchise, but that does not prevent them from producing and coming out with spinoffs.
While Diesel did not specifically mention who the possible characters will take the limelight in the possible spinoffs, speculations that it could be Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s character Luke Hobbs. It is also possible that the spinoffs may also include the character of Kurt Russell’s Mr. Nobody because it is full of mystery.
There is also the possibility of having a spinoff to feature the Shaw brothers, Owen and Deckard, played by Luke Evans and Jason Statham, respectively, who are obviously big action stars themselves.
Some others are also suggesting a spinoff story about Han Seoul-Oh, played by Korean actor Sung Kang, and Giselle Harabo, played by Gal Gadot, which is quite interesting as well.
The rest of the cast like Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz, Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce, and Ludacris as Tej, can certainly carry their own spinoff movies if given the opportunity.
Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley also confirmed the plan to do a lot with the variety of characters the franchise has. She said that they have been talking about how they can expand the “Fast & Furious” franchise now because it is an ensemble cast and there is definitely room to bring characters in and out.
The latest reports now indicate that the first spinoff of the franchise could be a film about Dominic Toretto, Vin Diesel’s character in the series. It is not a far-fetched possibility actually because the actor is also one of the producers of the franchise, that’s in addition to the fact that he is one of the more bankable action stars in Hollywood these days.
Picking actors for the next film
Meanwhile, when reports recently came out that Vin Diesel has picked Indian actress Deepika Padukone to become her leading lady for the sequel of his “XXX” movie shown in 2002, Bollywood fans started speculating whether the action star would also decide to bring the actress to the next installment of the “Fast & Furious” franchise.
The rumors actually have a good leg to stand on since Vin Diesel has recently shown that he likes bringing an actor from a film to the “Fast & Furious” franchise.
One perfect example is British veteran actress Helen Mirren, whom Vin Diesel co-starred with in his latest movie “The Last Witch Hunter” which hit theaters last month.