The latest installment to the “Fast and Furious” franchise might feature Brian O’Conner after all. Paul Walker’s character has exited the series after the “Fast & Furious 7” due to the actor’s untimely demise in November 2013.
Walker was halfway filming the movie when a single car collision took his life in 2013. His brothers Cody and Caleb finished his remaining scenes with the help of CGI to make it look like Paul.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Caleb and Cody said that they have discussed plans with Vin Diesel in bringing back his late brother’s character in the upcoming film of the car racing franchise.
Caleb said that Diesel called him and asked for their family’s blessing if it was okay to bring back Paul’s O’Conner. He says that Vin wanted the fans to know that Brian is still there for the team.
Cody says that Universal has approached them as well saying should they bring back his character, they would be respectful to Paul and his image.
The Walker brothers revealed that standing in for their brother in the last movie help them move on from their brother’s passing.
Caleb said that being in his shoes gave them a new understanding of Paul as an actor and what his craft was all about.
Despite narrating their phone call with Diesel, neither Caleb nor Cody confirmed if they will reprise their late brother’s role for the upcoming film.
Since an eighth film was announced, there were reports that suggest that Paul’s brothers would reprise his role. However, this was denied many times as well saying that O’Conner has already moved on with his life in the story.
Filming for the upcoming movie is already coming to a close which means if O’Conner will return, it will possibly be a cameo. It’s also possible that he will do a cameo in the last two films to bring his character to close.
Fans have reacted positively to the idea of Paul’s character coming back to the film. Some say that it will be a nice way to pay homage to the character and to Paul himself.
In the last movie, Brian left Dominic’s crew to be with Jordana Brewster’s Mia and their children. Brewster has stated that despite Mia’s story already being wrapped up in “Fast & Furious 7,” she’s very open to reprising her role.
“Fast and Furious 8” will hit theaters on April 14, 2017, and is helmed by “Straight Outta Compton” director F. Gary Gray. Diesel announced along with the eighth film that two more “Fast and Furious” movies will be made closing the franchise to 10 films.
The original cast with the exception of Brewster has signed on to reprise their roles. Producer Neal Moritz said that the newest addition to the popular film series will shift the focus from heist films to a spy caper, following a similar change of focus from street racing in “Fast Five.”
“Fast 8” will also see the return of Kurt Russell, Frank Petty, and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw. Judging by photos on the set, it looks like Shaw will now be on Toretto’s team to take down a new big bad.
Lucas Black, who played Sean Boswell in “Fast & Furious 3: Tokyo Drift” and “Fast & Furious 7” have signed on to reprise his role in the final three films.
There were reports saying that Boswell will be Toretto’s new partner, but Diesel has stated that nobody can replace O’Conner.
Charlize Theron has joined the cast as the antagonist Cipher. Kristopher Hivju has also been cast as Cipher’s henchman. Helen Mirren will also appear in a yet undisclosed role.
Dwayne Johnson has also signed up for the film reprising his role Luke Hobbs. Johnson has expressed his desire to create a spin-off film for his character and teased fans that they will be seeing a darker Hobbs in the upcoming film.