Editor’s Note: The following contains Fast X spoilers.Paul Walker hasn’t appeared in any of the Fast & Furious movies since Furious 7. However, since his passing in 2013 during the production of the seventh installment, the franchise hasn’t forgotten about the actor and his character Brian O’Conner. Even as Fast X marks the “beginning of the end” for the franchise, Vin Diesel promises that Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner will still play an important role in the finale. Diesel told Total Film, “That moment in 2013 when the world was struggling with his loss, the studio made a very bold and righteous and daring decision to keep Brian O’Conner alive.” Since then, Brian has remained off-screen, spending most of his time taking care of his and Mia’s (Jordana Brewster) children. But that doesn’t mean Brian’s role in the franchise has diminished. In fact, Paul Walker’s absence and Brian’s continued involvement in the franchise story make for a touching tribute to the actor and character. In Fast X, that continues to be the case. Even though Paul Walker doesn’t appear in the film, Brian O’Conner is still very much part of the “Fast” family off-screen and even Walker’s own family remains involved in the franchise.
Brian Is Retired and Now a Stay-At-Home Dad
Ever since Paul Walker’s last appearance as Brian O’Conner in Furious 7, his character has been trying to balance his family life with the “fast” life. He and Mia just had a son in the previous film. So instead of driving luxury cars on a globe-trotting, high-stakes mission, Brian is competing with other parents at the school parking lot to pick up his son from school. Although he does get pulled into the fight against Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), the ending of Furious 7 clearly sets up Brian’s retirement as a stay-at-home dad. The decision to keep his character out of future missions is, of course, tied to Paul Walker’s unfortunate passing during the production of Furious 7. But it is also a great tribute and sendoff to Walker’s legacy. At the end of the film, Brian and Mia are playing with their son on the beach while the rest of the team — their family — look on from a distance. “That’s where he belongs,” Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) says. Dom adds, “Home. Where he’s always belonged.”
In each successive sequel, Brian’s role as a family man stays true to that final scene in Furious 7. In The Fate of the Furious, Brian is only mentioned in a brief exchange between Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Letty, who says, “We can’t bring Brian and Mia into this. We agreed on that.” Even if he isn’t around, the rest of the Fast family is still looking out for Brian, Mia, and their children (in addition to their son, they now have a daughter). But F8 pays homage to Paul Walker in another way. Dominic Toretto discovers that his former partner, Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky), has been raising their child. Although the villain of The Fate of the Furious, Cipher (Charlize Theron), tragically executes Elena, Dom takes it upon himself to raise their son with Letty. As a tribute to Paul Walker’s character, Dom names his son Brian, who later takes on the nickname Little B.
In F9 and in the most recent entry in the franchise Fast X, Brian remains offscreen. In addition to taking care of his son and daughter, he has also been the team’s go-to babysitter while they go off on their dangerous missions. In F9, when Dom and Letty are pulled back into the action by facing off against Dom’s brother Jakob (John Cena), Little B goes into hiding and safekeeping with the bigger Brian. As both Dom and Jakob’s sister, Mia also joins the mission. So, Brian really is the real MVP for looking after the Fast children all by himself. Brian does make it to the barbecue in the end, albeit off-screen, as his blue Nissan Skyline races into Dom’s driveway. And in Fast X, when Mia realizes that her family is in danger from the vengeful Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa), she goes off to warn Brian and their children. The fate of the Toretto-O’Conner family remains to be seen since Fast X does end on a cliffhanger.
Brian Returns Through Flashbacks and Memories in ‘Fast X’
As mentioned above, Dante Reyes is out for revenge against Dominic Toretto and his family. Back in Fast Five, Dom and Brian were instrumental in stealing the Reyes family’s wealth by towing a vault throughout the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and leaving behind a path of destruction, including the death of Dante’s father Hernan Reyes. If the events of Fast Five weren’t clear enough, Fast X makes sure to include flashbacks from the previous film. Not only are scenes from the fifth installment intercut in much of the opening prologue that sets up the film’s villain but new scenes are also included that retroactively put Jason Momoa’s fanatical villain into the events of Fast Five. Since then, Dante has been studying the history of the entire Fast family and following their every move. Brian appears in many of Dante’s “vision boards” that mark him and his family as a target. Again, although Mia goes off to join Brian and their children, whether they got out of Dante’s sights remains unclear. But Dante isn’t the only one concerned with the past.
Dom has also been thinking about the rich history and memories he’s had with his Fast family. He keeps a collage of his family and friends in his garage. After the obligatory family barbecue, he looks through those photographs dating back to his first meeting with Brian O’Conner in the original The Fast and the Furious (2001). As he reminisces, a brief instrumental version of “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth plays. The record-breaking song first debuted in Furious 7 as a tribute to the late Paul Walker and has become synonymous with the Fast & Furious franchise. Furthermore, Dom seems to always have his brother-in-law in mind. When he is talking to Daniela Melchior’s character Isabel, Dom mentions how he and Brian had been on opposite ends of the law when they first met. In the first film, Dom ran a crew of street-level thieves and street racers, while Brian was an undercover LAPD cop tasked with bringing him in. But throughout the course of the film and the rest of the franchise, Dom and Brian put aside their differences and become brothers. This enemy-to-family arc is a formula that has worked for almost every Fast & Furious movie (most notably Deckard Shaw and Jakob Toretto). But ultimately, bringing up the memory of Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner is just one way the franchise continues to honor the actor and his character.
A Fitting Cameo Reminds Us of Paul Walker’s Legacy
While Brian O’Conner lives on throughout the continuity of the franchise, Paul Walker, unfortunately, cannot return in real life. However, Walker’s family has been a significant part of the Fast family behind the scenes. This was especially the case during the production of Furious 7 when his brothers Cody and Caleb Walker finished his scenes with the help of CGI.
In Fast X, a cameo from Paul Walker’s daughter and only child reminds us of what the actor left behind in real life. Meadow Walker first teased her cameo in an Instagram post thanking director Louis Leterrier for the opportunity. She wrote, “The first fast [sic] was released when I was one year old! I grew up on set watching my father, Vin, Jordana, Michelle, Chris, and more on the monitors. Thanks to my dad, I was born into the fast [sic] family.” In a more than fitting appearance during the film, Walker plays a flight attendant that helps “Uncle” Jakob and Little Brian escape from the Agency henchman. The fact that she helps Dom’s son who is named after her own father’s character is a powerful and sentimental homage to Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner.
The Fast & Furious franchise really is about family, both in front of and behind the cameras. Because his character was integral to the very first The Fast and the Furious and the other films, it is difficult to separate Paul Walker from the franchise. By keeping Brian O’Conner alive in continuity, Paul Walker’s presence is still a significant part of each successive film since his last appearance in Furious 7. And with the blessing and involvement of Paul Walker’s family, it’s great to see how a franchise that runs on fast cars and explosive action can still have a deeply personal touch.
Fast X is now playing in theaters.
