"Vin Diesel's Heartfelt Tribute: Remembering Paul Walker on His Birthday

 Vin Diesel takes to Instagram to share a touching post in honor his late Fast & Furious costar Paul Walker on what would have been his 50th birthday.



SUMMARY

  •  Vin Diesel shares a touching post on Instagram in honor of what would have been Paul Walker's 50th birthday, reflecting on their close bond and the impact Walker had on his life.
  •  Diesel shares a heartfelt memory of Walker's selflessness, highlighting his passion for helping others as a first responder.
  •  While it remains uncertain if Walker will be digitally recreated in future Fast & Furious movies, Diesel hints that the franchise will find a way to truly say goodbye to Walker and the beloved character of Brian O'Connor.


Fast & Furious star Vin Diesel shares a touching post on Instagram in honor of what would have been Paul Walker's 50th birthday. The Fast and the Furious introduced audiences to Diesel's Dominic Toretto and Walker's Brian O'Connor back in 2001, and the pair would lead a host of sequels. Walker tragically died in 2013, however, midway through filming Furious 7, but Brian has remained a key figure in the franchise.


Now, in celebration of Walker's birthday on September 12, Diesel shared a post on Instagram honoring his late costar and friend.


In his post, above, Diesel shares details regarding Walker's kindness and giving outlook on the world, which includes a memory from one Fast & Furious production. You can read Diesel's full caption below:


A decade… ten long years… and yet it feels like yesterday when we were singing happy birthday to you for the big 40! The world isn’t the same brother… as a species, one might say we are struggling. But I think of you, and I smile and know everything is going to be alright.


I was going through images to celebrate this sacred day. Memories flashing before me, one better than the next… but I couldn’t get past this one. Funny, the little angel came into the office, and looked over my shoulder. “That’s such a timeless photo, Dad… one that will live on for generations of humanity…”


Of course I don’t turn around, haha no need for the kid to see his pops worked up eyes. As he leaves he says “it’s why I want to build cars, for him”.


He wasn’t even born yet. It would be seven months later when you would tell the crew and the Fast production “Vins gotta get to New York to receive his son”. You had that ability to refocus everyone including a whole production to the important things in life.



For me this picture represents the moment I knew we would be brothers for eternity. January 2010, the night before you and I went to Haiti… the passion and joy you had to simply help people. You said first responders shouldn’t have to wait for anyone… and that you wanted to dedicate your life to that.


First responders… that was your true self, and you were sharing it with me, your brother. Haha. To this day, I imagine if you looked up “first responder” in the dictionary, there would be a picture of you. Haha. So as much as I would like to think we would be cutting cake and singing happy birthday for the big 50! We probably wouldn’t… cause you would be in Maui or Morocco, or anywhere in this planet where people were in need. I miss you… I love you, and I will continue to honor the beautiful soul you are.


Will Paul Walker Be Seen Again In Fast & Furious?

Walker died midway through production on Furious 7, but Brian still appears throughout the entire movie. For the scenes that Walker hadn't gotten to film yet, the production used Walker's real-life brothers and visual effects to bring the character to life. The Furious 7 ending serves as a beautiful sendoff for Walker, and his character hasn't been seen in any new scenes in the franchise since, despite remaining alive in the world of the story.


F9: The Fast Saga features an indirect Brian return in the form of his car pulling up to Dom's house, and Walker is featured in Fast X as well in the Fast Five flashback footage. So far, however, none of the movies following Furious 7 have digitally recreated the actor in any way. With the franchise now gearing up to conclude Dom's story in one or two more movies, it seems likely that Walker and his impact on the franchise will be honored on the big screen one last time.


While the question of whether Walker will be digitally recreated has not directly been answered, Diesel previously teased to Total Film that he "couldn’t imagine this saga ending without truly saying goodbye to Brian O’Conner." It's not clear exactly how this will play out on screen, but it could well mean that audiences will be seeing another CGI Walker as part of one final Fast & Furious franchise farewell.