F. Gary Gray considered using a CGI Paul Walker for The Fate of the Furious

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Paul Walker tragically died in a car accident while on break from the filming of FURIOUS 7. The project went on hiatus while they figured out what to do about the remainder of the film, and ultimately it was decided that production would resume and the sequences which Paul Walker had already completed would be kept. Paul Walker's brothers, Caleb and Cody, stepped in help finish their brother's scenes and, with some CG assistance, the character of Brian O'Conner was given a surprisingly tender send-off. It was a huge challenge for all involved but as Brian O'Conner is still alive in the FAST & FURIOUS universe, fans began wondering just how his absence in the next film would be addressed.

As development on THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS began, there were plenty of discussions about how to properly handle Paul Walker's legacy in the FAST & FURIOUS franchise. While speaking with ScreenRant, director F. Gary Gray revealed that at one point they considered bringing Brian O'Conner back as a CGI character.

We had hundred of conversations about the best way, the classiest way to handle and address Paul’s legacy in this franchise. You know, there’s multiple ways you can go. You could create a digital Paul and make him more of a character. You could leave him out and pretend that he’s in this world anymore. These are all conversations we had and we felt like the choice we made respected his legacy the best. And my understanding is that his family was really happy with how we treated him.

Thankfully they didn't take the route of digitally resurrecting Paul Walker, but THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS did feature a touching tribute to Walker and his character of Brian O'Conner. Last year Paul Walker's brother Caleb revealed that Vin Diesel had discussed the possibility of Paul Walker's character returning and wanted to know 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 that "Universal wants to make sure to be respectful of Paul and his image too, and his family." Given how respectfully the FAST & FURIOUS team have treated their fallen brother so far, I would hope that they will continue to let Brian O'Conner live his new life, but with two more films left before the franchise apparently concludes, there must be a temptation to check in with Brian O'Conner once more before the whole saga wraps up.

Are you hoping to see Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner again before the franchise wraps up or should they leave his character alone?

THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS will be released on DVD/Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD on July 11th.