Actor Vin Diesel joined his Fast and Furious co-stars Tyrese Gibson and Cody Walker at the Fuel Fest in the US on Saturday. According to Variety, Vin spoke to fans about what to expect from Fast and Furious 11, the final film in the franchise, and teased the return of Paul Walker’s character. The internet had mixed reactions.
Vin Diesel teases Paul Walker’s return to Fast and Furious 11
Vin told a crowd of fans that Fast and Furious 11 will tentatively be released in April 2027. He also teased Paul’s return and said, “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.”
For the unversed, Paul played a cop turned street racer called Brian O’Conner in the film franchise. The actor died in a car crash at age 40 in 2013, so it is unclear whether AI will be used to digitally insert him into the film or if Vin is talking about old footage.
Internet reacts
Fans of the franchise had mixed feelings about Paul’s return to the final Fast and Furious film. “Bruh whyyy, he had such a great send off. Let him rest in peace,” wrote one Instagram user, while another said, “The final Fast and Furious movie was Fast and Furious 7 when the white car drove away while Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa were singing See You Again.”
Some wondered if the famous song See You Again would be featured again, losing its impact, “See you again part 2?” and another joked, “Fast and furious: the conjuring.” A frustrated fan wrote, “Enough is enough. There’s a fine line between grief and missing someone and being obsessed and exploitative. This goes for Paul, Aliyah, Selena, Tupac, Biggie, and a host of others. Let em REST!”
Some fans, however, seemed happy about the news, wanting to see Paul one last time, “Great call he was a huge part of the franchise he absolutely needs to be included in the final movie in someway shape or form. It wouldn’t be right if he wasn’t.”
About Fast and Furious
Kicking off the franchise was The Fast and the Furious, which was released in theatres in 2001. The last film in the franchise, Fast X, was released in May 2023, and it grossed more than $700 million worldwide. Starring Vin Diesel, Alan Ritchson, Jason Momoa, Michelle Rodriguez, Rita Moreno and Brie Larson, it was advertised as a two-part saga. So it remains to be seen if Fast and Furious 11 will continue the story of Fast X after a major delay.
