What Brian O’Connor scenes are not Paul Walker

Warning! Contains spoilers for Quick X!After Paul Walker tragically died in 2013 during the filming of Furious 7The team faced the difficult task of giving Walker’s character, Brian O’Connor, a proper send-off from the franchise. Indeed, Walker’s Fast and furious This role has come to define the vast majority of the saga of action, crime and street racing movies. Producer Neal Moritz said that in the immediate aftermath of Walker’s death, they were so lost that they thought they would have to cancel the movie, but instead they had to change the ending.

In November 2013, while in Santa Clarita, CA for a fundraiser, Walker met with his business partner, race car driver Roger Rodas. Walker and Rodas went for a drive in a Porsche Carrera GT, but the drive ended in tragedy with Walker losing his life. Although he has finished most of his on-camera work for Furious 7Walker’s death meant that the film ultimately had to be rewritten and explain why Brian would not be in future sequels. This led to scenes where Walker’s brother came in to complete Brian’s story in Furious 7.

Every Brian O’Connor scene that isn’t Paul Walker

A combination of visual effects and stand-ins were used to complete Brian’s role

Visual effects company Weta Digital was brought in To help facilitate the performance that Walker has already given. This was no small task, as the effects company had to create 350 digital shots with Brian in the center. The scenes ranged from action-packed to more subtle, meaning a range of techniques would be necessary. To pull it off, Weta relied on an archive of footage and outtakes from Walker’s previous Fast Saga Performances – and his brothers.

Combined with the actor’s work from the whole of Fast and furiousPaul Walker’s brother role-played scenes as Brian to provide templates for Weta. With Walker’s two brothers, Caleb and Cody, and actor John Brotherton serving as body doubles, Weta CGI artists were able to digitally overlay Walker’s face and create a convincing performance. These are some of the scenes that pay tribute to Paul Walker/Brian O’Conner Fast Saga legacy:

What was the hardest Brian scene to recreate without Paul Walker?

The results of the CGI recreations are mixed yet necessary

Brian standing with the rest of the crew was particularly difficult to do digitally, as it involved a close-up of his face as he turns to Dom. However, the shot worked well enough that it was later used for marketing materials, including the poster for Furious 7. Another challenging scene for the Furious 7 VFX team was the one where Walker’s Brian keeps a hard drive. Brian was tangled with the idea of ​​leaving the fast life behind his family, and the digital rendering of the late actor had to showcase this in his facial performance.

All told, the company’s employees did the best they could with CGI Paul Walker, digitally rendering him in a way that honored the actor’s legacy in the Fast and furious Franchise and the arc of Brian. The final sequence, though, carries the most emotional weight as it serves as Walker’s farewell to Brian. Dom and the family look on as Brian, Mia and their son frolic near the beach water.

Dom got up to leave without saying goodbye, but Brian followed him in his own car, pulling up at a stop sign. The two share a look one last time, and the film ends with Brian and Dom going their separate ways about how the road is taking them to their next destination. In the end, the results of creating a CGI Paul Walker for finishing the film were met with varying degrees of success. therefore, Van declined to comment on which of Walker’s performances were real And what are not. He commented (via SlashFilm):

“It’s very important that people go into this movie not fixated on trying to figure out who is Paul, who isn’t Paul. I want them to just watch the film and enjoy the film and be caught up in the emotion of it all.”

Although the final digital shot may flirt with the invisible valley, Furious 7 Give Walker’s character a spin-off in 2015.

Brian O’Connor’s return in Fast & Furious explained

Brian’s famous car signals his role in the sequel

F9 Cleverly avoided all the problems associated with CGI by putting a different spin on Paul Walker Fast and furious Return. Walker’s character, Brian, does not appear in the movie, but it is clear that he drives the blue 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R that shows up at Dom’s house in the final scene.

Before that, Dom notices an empty chair at the table during a barbecue, and Mia tells Dom that the last guest will arrive soon. Considering Brian’s love of sneezes – and the context of the situation before his car took off – it’s undoubtedly Brian O’Connor behind the wheel.

This was a much less risky way to bring Paul Walker’s Brian back. Furthermore, in a franchise that has grown more over-the-top over time, this was a Highly refreshing and surprising dose of subtletyWhich served as an emotional tribute to Walker’s character as well. Indeed, Brian was such a strong and foundational force in the quick saga, That he didn’t even have to appear F9 In order to make a convincing return.

As Brian O’Connor returns in Fast X

Will Brian return before the end of the franchise?

in quick x, Brian O’Connor returns to the franchise, but only in a glimpse of the past. The movie opens in a flashback to the moments just before Dom and Brian’s infamous would-be heist quick five, With Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) introducing his son and new franchise villain, Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa).

This time, Paul Walker Fast and furious Character is again rendered in CGI – but only in brief moments of action, allowing Quick X To avoid the invisible valley effect entirely. As the flashback is from F5 As it begins, it is revealed that Dom and Brian actually made their worst enemy on the day, with Dante seeking revenge for his father’s death over. Quick X.

Vin Diesel confirmed this Quick 11 Is in the cards and that They consider turning Quick X In a complete trilogyMeaning that the last movie in the franchise might actually be Quick 12. It will be interesting to see how the franchise can give Brian a proper send-off if he is to appear again in the next one or two movies.

Brian’s future in Fast and Furious

Fast 11 needs to bring back Brian

The way Furious 7 Handled the death of Paul Walker was met with a lot of acclaim from fans and critics. However, as the franchise continued, Brian O’Connor’s absence became increasingly obvious and distracting. The movies continue to mention the character, confirming that he is still around and a big part of the characters’ lives, but there are always flimsy excuses about why he is not around despite the fact that his loved ones are constantly put in danger.

with Quick 11 Simply to be the end of the franchise, It is necessary that Brian will be featured in a more substantial way to honor the character and Walker’s role in the franchise before it is over. There are a lot of rumors about how to achieve this, such as that the character will be killed off screen or recast the role with one of Walker’s brothers. However, both of these options were also viewed as possibly in bad taste.

The most likely and appropriate option would be to use CGI to allow an appearance of Walker, similar to the end of Furious 7. Although it would be too difficult and risk shattering the believability of the moment if Brian were to interact with other characters in the movie, just seeing him on screen for a moment would be a fitting way to make him part of the franchise’s end. and give Fast & Furious Fans the closure they have been looking for.