Vin Diesel shares Fast & Furious 9 photo that hints at Brian’s return

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Now that FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW has put the pedal the the metal in cinemas with a global take of $588 million so far, it's time for Fast fans to start chilling their Cornoas for when FAST & FURIOUS 9 races into theaters.

Directed by Fast & Furious franchise alum Justin Lin (FAST & FURIOUS, STAR TREK BEYOND), filming is currently underway for the ninth installment of the series, which has many members of the Fast family reprising their beloved characters, including Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto; Charlize Theron as Cipher; Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey; Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz; Jordana Brewster as Mia; Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce; and Ludacris as Tej Parker, among others. Joining the aforementioned crew for more high-octane action are Helen Mirren, John Cena, Michael Rooker, Finn Cole, and Anna Sawai.

Yesterday, Diesel posted a photo to his personal Intagram account that has Fast fans all revved up. The pic shows Diesel standing alongside Cody Walker, the brother of the late actor Paul Walker, who played Brian O'Connell for several installments of the franchise. Sadly, Paul Walker died while in the midst of filming 2015's FURIOUS 7, and was replaced by his brother to finish the film. The SFX crew on FURIOUS 7 used face-replacement tech on Cody to finish his brother's remaining scenes, including a touching tribute to the character who was last seen riding into the sunset. The heart-warming scene was accompanied by rapper Wiz Khalifa's hit song "See you Again".

"There is something special that happens every time Cody comes to visit production," Diesel wrote. "Always making Pablo proud! All love, always."

Could it be that Cody, as Brian, will return for FAST & FURIOUS 9? The photo implies as much, though I'm not aware of any confirmed casting at this time. Diesel has said that Paul Walker's presence would always be felt within the Fast franchise, so perhaps the team has found someway for Brian to appear in the film, if only for a short period of time. Honestly, I wouldn't put it past the Fast crew to find someway of including their dearly departed brother. After all, family is family.

FAST & FURIOUS 9 will race into theaters beginning on May 22, 2020.