According to actor Tyrese Gibson, the closest relatives of Fast and Furious star Paul Walker made it clear that they have nothing against the “high-speed” franchise continuing to develop further without Walker and his character Brian O’Connor. The actor died in a car accident in 2013, after which his hero was removed from the plot in the end of “Fast and the Furious 7”. As for Gibson (in The Fast and the Furious, he plays the role of Roman Pierce, who has been friends with Brian since childhood), he said in an interview with Maxim magazine:
People can say, they say, Paul is no longer with us, so why are you continuing this business? But that is precisely the reason why we decided not to stop – we do it for Paul. But the decisive factor for us was the conversation with Paul’s family and their blessing. The last film of Paul was “Fast and the Furious 7”, and when we saw his father, mother and brothers at the premiere of “Fast and the Furious 8”, we realized that they fully support every step we take along this path.
Recall that Cody Walker and Caleb Walker acted as understudies for his dead brother during the filming of the final scenes from “Fast and the Furious 7”. This film was a tribute to love and respect for the actor, who played the main roles in six parts of the franchise. Also on the account of Paul Walker, leading roles in such films as “White Captivity” (2005), “Without Looking Back” (2005) and “Winning Time” (2006).
The release of “Fast and the Furious 9” was originally scheduled for May 22, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, was postponed to April 2, 2021.