Fast Forever: Paul Walker’s Brother Not Interested In AI Replication of Actor
Paul Walker’s brother, Cody, has discussed the idea of an AI replication of his deceased brother being used for the upcoming Fast and Furious film, Fast Forever. Walker appeared in the beloved action film franchise centred around street car racing and heists from the beginning in 2001’s The Fast and the Furious, directed by Rob Cohen, alongside co-stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Rick Yune, Chad Lindberg, Johnny Strong, and Ted Levine, as Brian O’Conner, a police officer tasked with investigating a group of hijackers.
The star reprised his role for the five sequels before tragically passing away in a single-vehicle collision in November 2013, at the age of 40. Walker was in the middle of shooting the seventh Fast and Furious film, Fast and Furious 7, at the time of his death, with his siblings stepping in to shoot the remaining sequences featuring Brian O’Conner, alongside digital face replacement being used.
Fast Forever was announced in April 2023, upon the release of Fast X, the tenth film in the series. Louis Leterrier is set to direct, having led the previous film.
Now, with Artificial Intelligence being used to restore, create, and replicate seemingly any film figure or scene, we may be seeing Walker’s beloved role return to the franchise using AI as a digital resurrection. However, his brother has affirmed his firm stance against the act, which resides in what Walker’s daughter Meadow “….wants to see done; it’s her father.”
“I would not be interested in doing that again,” Cody stated to Entertainment Weekly.
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The actor’s brother also reflected on the final on-screen appearance of Brian O’Conner as seen in 2015’s Fast and Furious 7, which saw the character choosing to walk away from the lifestyle of street racing and heist take-downs to raise his family with his wife Mia. The film, directed by James Wan, concludes with the touching image of O’Conner spending time with his nearest and dearest on a beach, being admired by his former crew, before pulling up beside Diesel’s Dominic Toretto in a car for one last drift before the two cars part ways.
“I love the way his character exited the franchise,” Cody Walker explains. “They didn’t kill him off; they didn’t do something cheesy like that. It’s beautiful; [Brian] is off raising his kids.”
But with two years to go before the twelfth installment in the franchise releases and AI seemingly improving day by day, it appears that an AI replication of Walker’s role is possible. His brother acknowledges how, “….if they want to do that, if Meadow would like to see that, they don’t need [him] or [the third Walker brother, Caleb].”
“AI was not a thing back in 2014, so they could do that. There are years of footage that was never used from these other Fast films,” he added. “They’re the best in the business; they can figure that out.”
Nonetheless, both Walker siblings have assured that they would love to appear themselves on screen to help carry out “a little cameo and bring Paul back to save the day”, with strong emphasis on how “it would take a lot of thought, and it’d have to be tasteful”.
Fast and Furious 12: Fast Forever is due to be released on 17th March, 2028.
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