The cast of The Fate of the Furious is remembering their late cast member, Paul Walker, during the press tour for the upcoming film.
Walker died in a car accident in November 2013 after the completion of Furious 7. The film ended with a loving send-off for both Walker and his character, Brian O’Conner, who went his separate way from the heist crew. For the cast of the Fast and Furious franchise, Walker is gone but not forgotten, and the newest film is a tribute “from him.”
At the premiere of The Fate of the Furious on Saturday, Vin Diesel, Ludacris and the rest of the original cast remembered the actor. The co-stars revealed what it was like not having him around for the most recent installment and shared why this new film is from him to the fans.
“The last movie was for Paul, we love to say this movie is from Paul,” Ludacris revealed to Entertainment Tonight. “So, I mean his presence is always going to be felt and at this point we’re working hard and trying to make the best movie possible for him to continue on his legacy.”
Diesel was more emotional when discussing filming the movie without his friend and co-star.
“A lot of people go, ‘What’s it like making a movie without Pablo’ and that’s not the right question. The real question, he said, is “What’s it like living without your brother?” he said. Diesel named his daughter Pauline in honor of his friend.
In March, the actor shared a throwback photo on Instagram of him and Walker embracing in a hug. He captioned the photo “Always…”
For Michelle Rodriguez, the latest film was a way to reinvent the franchise. There was no way to ignore the obvious loss of their co-star and that’s why this film is darker. “We didn’t want to jump in and pretend that everything’s OK after such a big loss,” she said. “You kind of have to reinvent the thing and go dark before coming out of it.”
It is hard to ignore the character’s absence, so the eighth entry in the franchise does give a few nods to Brian that help the story progress from the last film and his character’s decision to part ways.
The death of Paul Walker is still being felt by his “Fast and Furious” franchise costars.
The latest installment, “The Fate of the Furious,” debuts in theaters Friday without its star.
Walker died in a car crash in 2013 just as he was completing filming of “Furious 7.”
The crash, which was not connected to filming of the movie, also claimed the life of his racing team partner, Roger Rodas.
Vin Diesel told “Entertainment Tonight” on the red carpet for the film’s premiere that it’s been difficult since losing his best friend, whom he nicknamed “Pablo.”
“A lot of people go, ‘What’s it like making a movie without Pablo’ and that’s not the right question,” Diesel said. The real question, he said, is “What’s it like living without your brother?”Diesel named his daughter Pauline, now two years old, in honor of Walker.
Costar Michelle Rodriguez said the death of Walker and his absence is the reason why the eighth film in the franchise is darker than the rest.
“We didn’t want to jump in and pretend that everything’s OK after such a big loss,” she said. “You kind of have to reinvent the thing and go dark before coming out of it.”
Ludacris said the cast wants to honor Walker, who was more than just their costar.“The last movie was for Paul, we love to say this movie is from Paul,” Ludacris said. “So, I mean his presence is always going to be felt and at this point we’re working hard and trying to make the best movie possible for him to continue on his legacy.”
“This week is always rough for those of us who really knew him personally.”
Paul Walker’s costars are paying tribute to the late actor on the anniversary of his untimely death. Three years ago on Nov. 30, the Fast and Furious star passed away at age 40.
Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris and Vin Diesel all took to social media to remember Walker, who died in a fatal car crash in 2013.
“I miss you and I love you every single day,” tweeted Brewster along with a photo of the pair Wednesday. Ludacris shared a photo of the actor in character as Brian O’Conner with the words, “Always in our hearts.” His caption read: “Gone but never forgotten. #love.”
Vin Diesel updated his Facebook cover photo with bookend images of himself and Walker.
On Tuesday, Gibson shared a video of himself and his “favorite white man” along with a montage of photos and clips of Walker.
“This week is always rough for those of us who really knew him personally,” Gibson began in a lengthy and heartfelt post on his Instagram. “Paul treated everyone with the upmost respect and went out of his way to make everyone feel like they mattered…. I love and I miss you dearly.”
The next and eighth installment in the franchise, Fast and Furious 8, features newcomers Scott Eastwood and Charlize Theron, alongside original castmembers Diesel, Gibson, Ludacris, Dwayne Johnson and Michelle Rodriguez. The film hits theaters in 2017.
Gone, but never forgotten. Those words pretty much perfectly sum up Paul Walker and his now legendary Fast & Furious character Brian O’Conner. Although the action star passed away back in 2013 after a tragic car accident and drove off into the sunset at the end of 2015’s Furious 7, his on-screen family has endeavored to keep his memory alive in a way that should get any Fast & Furious fan excited. In fact, the cast of Fast 8 has just released a video explaining how each and every one of us can contribute to honor the memory of Paul Walker, and it’s all for a good cause.
As you can see, the cast and crew of Fast 8 has just announced that the film has teamed up with Omaze to raise money for The Paul Walker Foundation. Fans who donate to the campaign will automatically find themselves entered in a contest in which the first prize is a chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to the set of the upcoming installment in the Fast & Furious franchise. Aside from receiving luxurious accommodations, the first prize winner will tour the set and get a hands-on look at everything that goes into making a Fast & Furious movie.
Just about every major player from the Fast & Furious franchise makes an appearance, and even some new players — such as the recently cast Scott Eastwood — get in on the action. Of course, the highlight of the entire video comes during the interaction between Dwayne Johnson and Tyrese Gibson. This doesn’t exactly come as a surprise to us, considering their banter has provided some of the best laughs over the course of the last few Fast & Furious movies.
In all honesty, even those of us who don’t win this competition should take solace knowing that the money goes to an incredibly important and worthwhile cause. The Paul Walker Foundation was set up to raise money for the preservation and conservation of the world’s oceans and aquatic wildlife. It’s an important cause, and one that perfectly honors the philanthropic spirit that guided Paul Walker during his short, but meaningful, life.
We can think of few better ways for the production of Fast 8 to continue honoring its fallen star. Paul Walker may be gone, but it’s more than abundantly clear that this ensemble has not forgotten the impact he made on them during his life. We’ll keep you updated with more Fast & Furious information as it becomes available to us. Fast 8 will race its way into theaters next year on April 14.
“Fast and Furious 8” is still in its development stage albeit with New York City already set as one of its primary locations, and according to Variety, there is interest to film in Cuba. Another aspect that has been confirmed is that the late Paul Walker will be appearing in the film in some shape or form.
Speaking to MSN, NBC Universal Vice Chairman Ron Meyer stated that despite the fact Walker passed away during the production of the previous entry in the franchise and that his brother Cody would not be stepping in to replace him in “Fast 8,” Paul will still have some presence in the film and this may even affect the story moving forward.
According to a report from Yibada, this may indicate that flashback sequences from previous films will be used. It is possible “Fast 8” will use some of the unused footage from older films or may simply rely on the best scenes Walker’s Brian O’Connor is remembered for.
Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) is also said to be in the film and the report points out that her storyline will focus specifically on the scenes utilizing Brian’s flashbacks. There are speculations that the connection between the story and the movie’s new villain could be hidden within these flashbacks.
However, it is also entirely possible that flashbacks won’t be utilized to represent Brian O’Connor and that the movie will simply resort to old photos and some of the character’s possessions such as an old FBI piece of evidence that the villain may want to retrieve.
In the timeline of the films, Brian O’Connor is still alive, therefore it is likely Mia will be making investigations on her own without her husband’s knowledge, allowing the story to move forward without having to insert footage of Brian.
“Fast 8” opens in theaters on April 17, 2017.
