Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner could appear again in Fast Forever

Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner could appear again in Fast Forever, the upcoming final chapter of the main Fast & Furious series. New comments from Walker’s brother Cody have also raised the possibility that artificial intelligence and unused footage could be used to make the return happen.

Vin Diesel has already said that reuniting Dominic Toretto and Brian O’Conner is part of his plan for the finale. During FuelFest in 2025, Diesel said one of his conditions for making the final movie was bringing Dom and Brian back together on screen.

That does not mean Universal has confirmed that Paul Walker himself will be digitally recreated. So far, the studio has not announced how Brian would appear or what technology would be used.

Cody Walker recently addressed the possibility in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Cody and his brother Caleb previously worked as body doubles after Paul died during production of Furious 7. Their performances, along with visual effects and existing footage of Paul, allowed filmmakers to complete Brian’s remaining scenes.

Cody said he would not personally be interested in returning as a stand in for his brother this time. He believes Brian received a fitting ending in Furious 7, where the character left the dangerous life behind to raise his family.

However, Cody acknowledged that filmmakers now have other options.

“AI was not a thing back in 2014, so they could do that,” he told Entertainment Weekly. Cody also pointed to the large amount of unused footage of Paul from previous Fast & Furious movies that could potentially be used.

His comments do not confirm that AI will be used in Fast Forever. They simply explain one way Universal could recreate Brian without asking Cody or Caleb to perform as their brother again.

Cody also said any decision involving Paul’s likeness should ultimately involve Paul’s daughter, Meadow Walker. He said that if Meadow wanted to see Brian return, the filmmakers would no longer need him or Caleb to physically recreate the performance because technology has changed so much since Furious 7.

Brian has remained alive within the Fast & Furious story since Paul Walker’s death. Rather than killing the character, Furious 7 ended with Brian stepping away from the crew to focus on his wife Mia and their children.

Later movies have continued to mention him. F9 even ended with Brian’s blue Nissan Skyline arriving at the Toretto family home, although the character was never shown getting out of the car.

Bringing Brian back for Fast Forever would therefore not require the writers to reverse the character’s death. Within the story, Brian has simply been living away from the action.

The harder question is how filmmakers would recreate Paul Walker more than a decade after his death. Furious 7 relied on his brothers, other stand ins, computer generated imagery and footage that Walker had already filmed. Modern digital techniques could allow Universal to take a different approach this time, but no method has been officially announced.

Diesel appears determined to make Brian part of the franchise’s final chapter. His 2025 comments went beyond simply mentioning the character, telling fans that a reunion between Dom and Brian was something they were going to get in the finale.

Fast Forever is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on March 17, 2028. Universal officially lists the film under that title, while production is expected to begin later in 2026.

For now, Brian O’Conner’s return appears to be part of the plan. Whether audiences will see Paul Walker recreated through AI, unused footage, traditional visual effects or a combination of techniques remains unconfirmed.