Fast and Furious icon Vin Diesel has sent waves through the franchise's fanbase by hinting that Paul Walker's character could be making a comeback.
Walker, who played Brian O'Conner up until his death aged 40 back in November 2013. Speeding in a 45mph zone, he and driver Roger Rodas were killed in a road accident in California - although he did make posthumous appearances in both Furious 7 (his brothers Cody and Caleb Walker were body doubles for unfinished sequences) and Fast X (through archival footage).
Ahead of the tentatively titled Fast X: Part 2, which is scheduled to hit cinemas in April 2027, Diesel recently informed Fuel Fest attendees what they can expect from the next tarmac-shredding blockbuster.
"The studio said to me, 'Vin, can we please have the finale of Fast and Furious [in] April 2027?' I said, 'Under three conditions.' First, is to bring the franchise back to LA! The second thing was to return to the car culture, to the street racing! The third thing was reuniting Dom and Brian O'Conner," he revealed, referencing his own character Dominic Toretto.
For now, it's unclear what form Brian's emotional return would take, but cinema-goers and petrolheads alike don't seem overly convinced about the notion.
"Whatever happened to letting people Rest in Peace!?" read one reaction on social media platform, X.
"If the Fast and Furious franchise was smart, they would recast the role of Brian with Cody Walker, brother of Paul Walker, in the role, instead of using CGI," suggested another person.
A third went on to share: "Please let him rest dude cmon. He went out perfectly with see you again playing, bringing him back would be a disgrace."
"As long as it’s done with his family’s permission and they do what they did with Paul’s brothers in Furious 7, I personally don’t think this is a bad thing," wrote somebody on the other side of the argument. "What happened to Paul was a tragedy and he deserved to be there til the very end. This way he gets to be a part of the end of the franchise."
This comes after Walker's daughter Meadow was handed a cameo role as a flight attendant in 2023's Fast X, which ended up cashing in over $714m (£520m) at the global box office.
In an Instagram upload from the time of its release, the 26-year-old told her followers: "The first Fast was released when I was one year old! I grew up on set watching my father, Vin, Jordana [Brewster], Michelle [Rodriguez], Chris [Bridges aka Ludacris] and more on the monitors. Thanks to my dad, I was born into the Fast family.
"I can't believe now I get to be up there too. With those who have been around to see me grow up. I am so blessed to be able to honour my father's legacy and share this with him forever."
Walker and Diesel were more like brothers than colleagues, and just last year a funny resurfaced clip showed the former in a baldcap impersonating the latter on set.
