Fast Forever bringing back Paul Walker might spark debate, his brother says
AI could bring Paul Walker back for Fast Forever — but Cody Walker explains why that idea might not sit well.
If you follow the endless saga that is Fast & Furious, you’ll know the series has never really let logic get in the way of a good spectacle. But the possibility of resurrecting Paul Walker's character with modern AI tech for the apparently final movie has got people talking — and not all of them are happy about it. Now, Paul’s brother Cody Walker has chimed in on the idea, and it's fair to say he's got mixed feelings.
Furious 7 remains the highest-earning entry in the franchise, bringing in over $1.5 billion globally.
The AI Resurrection Debate
Cody was pretty direct when Entertainment Weekly pressed him about whether he'd want to see Brian O’Conner, Paul’s character, return via digital wizardry in Fast 11. Remember, the last time we saw Brian on screen, it was a heavily VFX-crafted farewell that used body doubles (Cody and their other brother Caleb) and a mountain of digital effects to patch together his final scenes following Paul’s tragic death in 2013.
Cody made it quite clear where he stands, but he left the door open for those closest to Paul:
Speaking to EW, Cody said, "My stance is, it’s what Meadow wants to see done; it’s her father. I would not be interested in doing that again. I love the way his character exited the franchise. They didn’t kill him off; they didn’t do something cheesy like that. It’s beautiful; [Brian] is off raising his kids. But if they want to do that, if Meadow would like to see that, they don’t need me or Caleb. AI was not a thing back in 2014, so they could do that. There’s years of footage that was never used from these other Fast films. They’re the best in the business; they can figure that out."
How Paul’s Death Shaped the Franchise
Back when Furious 7 was in production, Paul Walker’s sudden death sent the studio into a spin. Instead of clumsily writing Brian out or giving him an awkward off-screen demise, director James Wan and Universal hit pause on the whole operation, rewrote vast chunks of the story, and brought in Paul’s brothers as stand-ins. They pieced together the actor’s final performance using unused footage from past films, body doubles, and then-state-of-the-art VFX. The result was that much-discussed send-off scene, which, against all odds, was actually pretty tasteful for this franchise.
Since then, Paul’s presence hasn’t vanished. The films still reference Brian, steering clear of anything crass. Fast X even featured Paul’s real-life daughter, Meadow Walker, in a cameo. And last year, the ever-earnest Vin Diesel gave a heartfelt speech marking 25 years since the first film, paying tribute to Paul once again.
Fast 11: The Latest on the Finale
So here we are: Fast 11 is supposed to be the big send-off for the saga, even though more spinoffs, prequels, and entirely unnecessary expansions are already being lined up. The AI debate is unlikely to go away, and Cody’s point is pretty simple — if anyone gets to make the call, it should be Paul’s daughter. Technically, with today’s tools and a pile of unused footage, they could absolutely engineer another Brian O’Conner moment if they felt bold (or reckless) enough.