Fast and Furious’ Brian O’Conner to return in final film, Vin Diesel says
A Return To Form For Franchise's Final Film, Diesel Said
Brain O'Conner, the cop-turned-outlaw played by the late Paul Walker, will return for the final Fast and Furious movie, franchise star Vin Diesel said Saturday at the Fuel Fast event in Los Angeles.
In a short speech that's made the rounds on social media, Diesel said that, when asked by Universal Studios to lock in a release date of April 20, 2027, for the Fast and Furious finale, he responded with three conditions. One was a return to Los Angeles, the second was a return to the street racing that was the focus of the first film.
"The third thing was reuniting Dom and Brian O'Conner," Diesel said, referring to his own character Dominic Toretto. "That is what you are going to get in the finale."
Digital Effects And A Sibling Stand-In Could Make It Happen
Walker starred opposite Diesel in the first six Fast and Furious movies before he was killed in a car crash on November 30, 2013. Filming of Furious 7 was already underway at that time, so things were changed to write O'Conner out of the franchise. That included a final scene in which Walker's brother Cody stepped in as O'Conner, with digital effects to make the switch less obvious. Cody Walker stood next to Diesel during the announcement, along with Tyrese Gibson, who plays Roman Pearce in the franchise.
Diesel didn't elaborate on how the production team would accomplish his wish list, but digital effects to change an actor's appearance, including superimposing the likenesses of dead actors onto living ones, has only become more common since the release of Furious 7. So it's not difficult to imagine Brian O'Conner making his return this way.
A Long Road
The upcoming movie will be the 11th in the main Fast and Furious storyline, not including the 2019 spinoff Hobbs & Shaw. Expected to be Called Fast X Part Two (as it picks up on the storyline from 2023's Fast X) its scheduled release date will be 26 years after the 2001 release of The Fast and the Furious. That's an impressive record for any movie franchise, and explains the eagerness to bring back Brian O'Conner for one last ride.
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This story was originally published June 30, 2025 at 5:15 PM