The announced release date of Fast and Furious 8 is two years away, but fans cannot wait for more news, updates, and cast rumors on the movie. Following the successful inclusion of Paul Walker's character Brian O'Connor in the seventh installment of Fast and Furious despite his untimely death, fans are wondering if the said character would still appear on Fast and Furious 8. Apparently not.
As the hype for Fast and Furious 8 grows more intense, fans are clamoring for information on what the next installment would center on. A great deal of interest stems from the question of whether they would still see Paul Walker's character, whether through CGI or Walker's brother, Cody. Franchise producer Neal H. Mortiz answered already no through Screen Rant.
Instead, he clarified that O'Connor already moved on so he would not be seen anymore. Fans, however, would certainly be treated to a great story revolving around the remaining characters.
"We're lucky that we have a lot of great characters," Mortiz said. "Unfortunately, we don't have Paul anymore. His character... has moved on. But we feel like there's a lot still to be mined. That's where we're starting. We're really talking about the characters, where they all sit right now. It's a huge challenge."
However, with the movie being two years away, anything is possible. Still, fans need not be that disappointed that they would not catch a glimpse of Walker's character anymore. At any rate, Michelle Rodriguez early on revealed to People Magazine that the sequel would certainly still be a tribute to Walker. Fans can therefore still feel him.
According to the 37-year-old Rodriguez, since Walker always called for the story to go "back down to the core, which is the racing," Fast and Furious 8 would honor this wish by taking it to New York and centering the plot on street racing.
Rodriguez added that Walker was not happy with how previous installments got carried away with "special effects and the blue screens." Walker, it seemed was starting to be fidgety with over the top "explosions and crazy plot lines," Rodriguez shared. Fans can expect therefore the new plot of be less about these antics.
"I think that's what Vin [Diesel] meant when [he said] his main focus on the next one will be trying to keep it true to that car audience," she added. "Hopefully we'll be able to do that cause it's gotten bigger than ever and you know we also have to stay true to that so it'll be a challenge."
Walker was killed in a horrible car crash on Nov. 30, 2013, while in the middle of filming of Furious 7. The movie, which was released on April 3, 2014, paid tribute to the actor.
Fast and Furious 8 is slated for release in theaters nationwide on April 14, 2017.
