Is Paul Walker's Brian In Fast X?
Matthew Harrington The anticipation is mounting for what Fast X will bring to the BBQ as the final entry in the Fast Saga. Could it be Brian O’Conner’s return?
Warning: This post contains MAJOR spoilers for Fast XFast X had plenty of things going on and lots of people returning, including the Paul Walker Fast X return as Brian O’Conner. However, while fans seemed worried that more CGI would be used to bring the character back despite Walker's death, that isn't how the character returned in the movie. For over two decades, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family have shown there’s nothing Fast and the Furious can’t do. The end result has always been mostly harmless, physics-defying fun, but Fast X is at a pivotal crossroads when it comes to the possibility of Brian’s return in the franchise finale.
Paul Walker’s death in 2013 changed the Fast and the Furious franchise forever, leading to Brian’s retirement in 2015’s Furious 7. Since then, the normally heavy-handed action franchise has always taken the high road for its endearing references to Brian in The Fate of the Furious and F9. Purely technically speaking, there’s no reason why Brian can’t theoretically return to Fast X. In that movie, he was back but only in flashbacks. With that said, the real question Fast and the Furious needs to thoroughly consider is if Brian should return for the Fast 11 movie.
How Brian Could've Return To Fast X Without Paul Walker
Would Brian be in Fast and Furious 10? He returned before since Paul Walker's death. Furious 7 finished Walker's scenes by using his brothers’ stand-in performances and replacing their faces with CGI versions of Walker’s face during post-production. Brian’s return in 2023 to the Fast X movie could have been similar, with the benefit of much better technology. Ideally, his hypothetical return wouldn’t have to have been intertwined with Fast X’s plot. Something as simple as an ending with Brian enjoying one of Dom’s BBQ parties would be enough to turn on the waterworks.
Brian wouldn’t even need to show his face for this concept to work. Ultimately, the idea of the character appearing in the movie wouldn't need him to be on-screen for long, and a surprise cameo would leave the audience emotional with little said or done. An ending with Dom reappearing to greet the team would be a natural continuation of the blue car at the end of F9, and it would also be the ultimate homage to the iconic franchise's long-running theme of family.
Fast X Only Brought Brian Back For A Flashback
The good news is that a Paul Walker Fast X return happened with Brian, but there was no CGI needed and nothing done did harm to the final story of Brian riding off into retirement to keep his family safe. Instead, the entire opening scene from Fast X saw the scenes from Fast Five where Dom and Brian stole the vault 10 years prior from Herman Reyes. These scenes from Fast Five with Dom and Brian ended up intercut with previously unseen shots of Herman's song, Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) as he was there when they stole the vault and then when they killed his father.
There was one problem that remains with the Paul Walker Fast X return. With all the flashback scenes, and the looks that Dom gave the photos of them together, Brian still never showed up when his "family" needed help. Even when his wife Mia was under attack and had to go on the run, Brian was nowhere to be seen. While it is probably better not to bring back Brian without Paul Walker, Fast X showed how hard it can be to walk that tightrope. With Brian back in the flashback scenes, it only shone a brighter light on how he hasn't been there to help Dom and Mia when they needed him the most.
Should Fast X Have Brought Brian Back?
The concern was whether the Fast X story would show the necessary restraint to make the beloved character’s return work in a sensitive way. In this vein, perhaps Fast X should've gotten the benefit of the doubt, based on how Fast and the Furious has handled Brian in and after Furious 7. Unfortunately, The Fast Saga has a long track record of making puzzling decisions that seemingly defy common sense. F9 made the inexplicable decision to spoil Han’s return in its marketing, and Fast and the Furious has already wasted its perfect ending twice.
Fast and the Furious may have jumped the shark (and some skyscrapers), but Brian’s perfect ending is still intact from Furious 7. Regardless of his use in Fast X, Brian’s last ride already happened. Bringing Brian back now would likely be seen as tacky, no matter how much emotional appeal his return would inevitably produce for the Fast and the Furious series. If Brian must come back, it can’t be more than the briefest of cameos or flashbacks like this.
