If Vin Diesel‘s Fast Forever retcons the ending of Furious 7, it would tarnish the franchise’s best moment.
In 2013, Paul Walker, who played franchise staple Brian O’Conner, tragically died in a car accident. Walker passed away during the production of Furious 7. Diesel and the creative team reworked the ending using Walker’s brothers, Cody and Caleb, as stand-ins.
Cody recently told EW that he would “not be interested” in being a stand-in for his brother in Fast Forever. Cody loves the ending of Furious 7 and does not want to change it. Ultimately, Cody stated that the decision to bring Brian back rests with Meadow Walker, Paul’s daughter. If Brian did return, Cody mentioned how the franchise could use AI since they have years of footage that was never used.
Walker’s character is still alive in the franchise, and Diesel has mentioned how he wants to truly “say goodbye to Brian O’Conner.” To call that a disastrous decision would be an understatement.
Bringing Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner back would undermine the emotional closure of Furious 7
The Fast Saga was dealt an impossible hand with Walker’s death. The franchise could have killed Walker’s character off-screen or recast with a new actor. Instead, Diesel and the creative team elected to keep Brian alive by having him retire and move on from the crew. It was a beautiful send-off to a character that meant so much to the franchise.
For a franchise that cares so much about family, why would they choose to use AI to resurrect one of their fallen brothers? Furious 7 is the franchise’s pinnacle. They pulled off the impossible. Why risk ruining the best moment from the Fast & Furious? Furious 7’s ending would be discredited if the franchise uses AI for Walker in the next movie.
Fast Forever does not have to rely on AI to showcase Brian. In that same Furious 7 ending, the producers smartly used flashbacks to show Brian’s growth over the years. Fast Forever should follow the same blueprint with flashbacks. Utilize the years of unused footage and include one of the scenes from a previous film that never made the cut. I’d much rather watch an old scene with Diesel and Walker than a new scene that features an AI version of Walker.
Fast Forever’s credibility is down after the disappointment of Fast X. Using AI for Brian’s return would sink that credibility even further. There are so many ways to show Walker in the final Fast movie. If the Fast Saga goes down the route of AI, I’m afraid there is no coming back.
