Vin Diesel teases return of Paul Walker’s character in ‘Fast & Furious 11’

The late Paul Walker‘s Fast & Furious character will seemingly return for the franchise’s finale, according to Vin Diesel.

• READ MORE: ‘Fast X’ review: Jason Momoa’s big bad revs up the franchise engine

On Saturday (June 28), Diesel made a quick appearance at Fuel Fest, a car enthusiast event in California, where he was joined by Tyrese Gibson and Paul Walker’s brother Cody.

There, he gave fans a quick update on the franchise’s final film, Fast 11 and hinted at the return of Brian O’ Conner and the movie’s release window. “The studio said to me, ‘Vin, can we please have the finale of ‘Fast & Furious’ [in] April 2027?’” Diesel said, per Variety.

He continued: “I said, ‘Under three conditions.’ First, is to bring the franchise back to LA! The second thing was to return to the car culture, to the street racing! The third thing was reuniting Dom and Brian O’Conner.”

While it’s unclear how O’Conner will return in the franchise given star Paul Walker’s death in 2013, his final appearance to date in 2015’s Furious 7 saw his brother Cody stepping in to film several film – Paul’s face was digitally edited onto Cody’s body.

Since Paul Walker’s death, the character was retired in the franchise, with audiences being told that Brian O’Conner had removed himself from the gang to focus on his family.

It also remains to be seen if Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson will return for Fast 11, given his years-long feud with franchise lead Vin Diesel. The feud, which can be traced back to 2016, was seemingly put to rest in 2023 when Johnson remarked on Instagram: “Despite us having our differences, me and Vin, we’ve been like brothers for years”. In 2021, Johnson said there was no chance of him returning for Fast X, only to appear in a mid-credit scene in the 2023 film.

However, the pair shared a frosty greeting earlier this year at the Golden Globes, leading fans to believe that their bad blood isn’t done with just yet.

Johnson can next been seen playing MMA fighter Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine. As for Diesel, he’s currently working on a fourth instalment in The Chronicles of Riddick franchise. Recently, past Golden Globe winner Paul Walter Hauser criticised the actor for his lack of professionalism.

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