‘Fast 8’ Film, Updates: Paul Walker’s Brian O’Connor may Return, Michelle Rodriguez Explains how Actor’s Death Affects Series

‘Fast 8’ may feature the return of Paul Walker’s Brian O’Connor as teased by his brothers Cody and Caleb. Meanwhile, co-star Michelle Rodriguez explained how Walker’s demise affected the series.

According to Digital Spy, Walker’s Brian O’Connor may be making a surprise appearance in F. Gary Grey’s eighth installment in the action film series ‘The Fast and the Furious’. Brian is one of the lead characters in the series after being introduced in the first film, which earned critical and commercial success.

Brian was initially portrayed as a police officer, who was later discharged from the LAPD for helping ex-convict and elite street racer Dominic Toretto. Walker reprised his role in subsequent follow-ups namely ‘2 fast 2 Furious’, ‘Fast & Furious’, ‘Fast Five’, ‘Fast & Furious 6’, and ‘Furious 7’.

Walker passed away on November 30, 2013 following a fatal car crash in California, which also involved friend Roger Rodas. With ‘Furious 7’ in the middle of filming, production was temporarily halted after Walker’s demise.

According to The Week, Walker’s brothers Caleb and Cody stood in to help finish production for ‘Fast 7’ and portrayed his character to shoot certain scenes. The film also used CGI costing $50 million to finish some of the scenes featuring Walker’s Brian.

Caleb Walker said during a previous interview with Entertainment Tonight, "I had a phone call with Vin for about an hour and we really discussed this a while back. He wanted [our] blessing… Vin asked if it] would be acceptable to maybe bring Paul's character back... to really kind of let his fans know he's still out there."

Cody Walker added, "Universal wants to make sure to be respectful of Paul and his image too, and his family."

The upcoming ‘Fast 8’ is directed by F. Gary Grey and written by Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson. Dwayne Johnson is set to return as Hobbs while Vin Diesel returns as Dominic Torreto. Other members of the cast include Tyrese Gibson, Scott Eastwood, Nathalie Emmanuel, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell, Lucas Black, Jason Statham, Elsa Pataky, Jordana Brewster, Helen Mirren, and Michelle Rodriguez.

According to Dark Horizons, Rodriguez admitted that the ‘Fast and the Furious’ franchise will not be the same since Walker’s departure. She explained, “Paul’s the heart of it, he’s the guy who really loved the genre, he loved that lifestyle. And not having that love affair with cars and that lifestyle, it removed a certain aspect of the soul of the franchise and it hurts all of us and we all know it.”

‘Fast 8’ is an upcoming action film scheduled to be released in theaters on April 14, 2017. It is produced under One Race Films and Original Film and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the eighth installment in the popular and commercially successful action series ‘Fast and the Furious’, which earned $3.897 billion collectively worldwide.