After an extended hiatus, fast cars and family are about to make a comeback. At last week’s car enthusiast gathering, Fuel Fest, Vin Diesel made a surprise appearance with Fast and Furious costars Tyrese Gibson and Cody Walker, where he made a long-awaited update on the 11th and final installment in the series. Ever since Fast X underperformed at the box office two years ago, the fate of the franchise has been up in the air, and the plans for a possible Fast X trilogy fizzled out.
Yet this was our first concrete update on Fast and Furious 11 in a long time, as Diesel revealed that Universal had asked him about getting the film ready for a release in April 2027. But, Diesel added, he had three conditions, in a statement that raised eyebrows:
“First, is to bring the franchise back to L.A.! The second thing was to return to the car culture, to the street racing! The third thing was reuniting Dom and Brian O’Connor.”
Does ‘Fast and Furious’ Want To Resurrect Paul Walker?
To put it lightly, Diesel’s final condition raises a lot of questions, since Brian O’Connor’s actor, Paul Walker, tragically died in 2013, midway through production on Furious 7. Almost immediately, filming was halted, and the script was rewritten, allowing the team to send off Brian’s character instead of killing him off. Walker’s brothers, Caleb and Cody, were hired as stand-ins to film the rest of Brian’s scenes, and the heartfelt final scene saw Brian retiring from the crew to be with his family.
It’s no secret that, since Furious 7, the franchise quality has been spottier, partially because Brian’s relatable qualities were a crucial counterpoint to his macho costars. Without anyone to fill the now-vacant role of the everyman, the films lost much of the heart that once made them so beloved, and there was little to ground the story as the spectacle grew increasingly outlandish.
| Fast and Furious Film | Rotten Tomatoes Score |
| Furious 7 | 82% |
| The Fate of the Furious | 67% |
| Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw | 67% |
| F9 The Fast Saga | 59% |
| Fast X | 56% |
Indeed, many fans have long wished for Fast and Furious to get back to its street racing roots, so it’s no surprise that Vin Diesel wants to return to the elements that made the original a smash hit, especially if he wants to bring the finale full circle. Yet surely there’s a way to do this without explicitly bringing back Brian? Outside the ethical implications (which we’ll get to shortly), his character’s send-off in Furious 7 was beautiful, and reversing that runs the risk of undermining that plotline entirely.
It’s also a big part of why it felt wrong for the films to keep bringing Brian up even after the send-off. The tributes to Walker started sweet enough, notably when Dom named his son “Brian” in The Fate of the Furious. However, by the time F9 included Brian arriving for dinner in the final scene, without ever appearing on-screen, it began to feel obnoxious. They were no doubt well-intentioned, considering how crucial Brian was to the family, but at a certain point, all they did was remind us how much the series was missing his presence.
‘Fast and Furious’ Risks Undermining Itself Completely
But assuming Diesel actually goes through with his promise and does bring back Brian for the final chapter, how would they do it? The most straightforward and ethical decision would be to simply recast the role, possibly with one of Paul Walker’s brothers. Unused footage from earlier installments would be another option, but integrating scenes filmed years ago into a brand-new story could prove nightmarish in practice.
Disappointingly, the most likely scenario is that Diesel and Fast X director Louis Leterrier would bring Brian back using CGI. Furious 7 actually did this in the final scene, as they digitally integrated Paul Walker’s face onto his brother’s body (tellingly, it was only for a brief moment, and not a significant chunk of the movie). It’s become an increasingly common practice for major Hollywood blockbusters to digitally recreate deceased actors. Some of the most notable examples include Peter Cushing in Rogue One, Harold Ramis in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Christopher Reeve in The Flash.
To put it simply, taking this approach with Paul Walker is a horrible idea, flat-out. While Walker’s family could technically consent to it, it’s still hard to imagine that Walker himself would’ve wanted it, and it risks almost entirely undermining the touching tribute he got in Furious 7 and disrespecting his memory. As egregious as Brian’s constant mentions in the later installments were, they at least felt well-intentioned. However, it’s infinitely harder to use that defense when bringing a dead actor back to life, if not altogether impossible.
Of course, it’s possible that Diesel could opt out of doing this; he’s often teased potential films and story threads for the series that have never come to fruition. We certainly hope that’s what happens with his biggest request for Fast and Furious 11, because it risks undoing so much of the goodwill the films have spent so long cultivating. Since it’s an idea that none of the fanbase seems particularly keen on, we beg you, Vin Diesel: leave Brian O’Connor alone.