His Brothers Will Stand In For Him

In the wake of the Paul Walker memorial at the MTV Movie Awards, we have some somewhat comforting news to share: Paul Walker's brothers will serve as a stand-in for him in the new Fast & Furious movie. It's certainly refreshing to know that the late actor's memory will be physically carried on by his relatives.

Walker, who was only 40 years old when he passed away this November in a tragic car accident, was set to star in the upcoming Fast & Furious movie as his recurring character, Brian O'Connor. Amidst his death, there was ample speculation about whether the half-shot footage involving Walker would be used at all, and it seemed that any decision would prove to be disappointing and unsettling. Still, how can one ever deal with such a tragedy without some unsettling undercurrent?

The popular franchise, however, took to answering these questions with a Facebook page announcement which revealed the decision to incorporate his family. The note also addressed how the team would go about resuming production. The note read:

The FAST & FURIOUS saga is about family. The characters are connected by the bond of family, and it is how all of us who have worked together for more than thirteen years feel about each other. It certainly defines how we feel about our fans.

Our family experienced an unthinkable shock in November. We had to take time to grieve Paul, the brother we love and lost, and to figure out if we should move on with our film.

We came together and all felt the only choice was to continue. We believe our fans want that, and we believe Paul would want that too. Paul had already shot his dramatic scenes and most of his action for FAST & FURIOUS 7, and it’s among the strongest work of his career.

We have resumed shooting and now welcome Paul’s brothers, Caleb and Cody, into our FAST family. Caleb and Cody are helping us complete some remaining action for their brother and fill in small gaps left in production. Having them on set has made us all feel that Paul is with us too.

We are just under a year away from the release of FAST & FURIOUS 7, and this film is the most important we’ve ever done together. It will allow the character of Brian O’Conner to live on and let us celebrate Paul in his most defining role.

We wanted to take a moment to speak to our fans directly and thank you for the love and support you always show us as we resume our work.

Obviously, this is murky and difficult water to tread, but fans, friends, and family will surely be comforted to know that this decision has the stamp of approval from his brothers, and that the movie will certainly keep Walker's spirit alive in his physical absence.