F9 director Justin Lin shares he used to joke about faraway Fast & Furious sequels with Paul Walker. After being delayed from 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic, the ninth Fast & Furious movie finally arrived in theaters earlier this year. The movie found Dom (Vin Diesel) enjoying a quiet life with his family, only to be thrust back into the action when his estranged brother (John Cena's Jakob) resurfaces with dreams of making Dom pay for past slights. In addition to providing a deep dive into Toretto family history, F9 featured the long awaited return of Han (Sung Kang).
Next up for the Fast & Furious franchise is, well, the end. There are two more movies planned in the main series, and they're expected to bring everything to a close. Plot details are still being kept under wraps, but it promises to be an emotional end. Fans can likely expect more than a few references to past Fast & Furious films and characters; in the latter case, there's bound to be some kind of tribute to late star Paul Walker. As Brian O'Conner, Walker was one of the original Fast & Furious stars and remained a part of the franchise up until his tragic death in 2013.
Walker won't ever be forgotten by his Fast & Furious family, particularly as the end draws closer. In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant promoting the director's cut of F9, Lin reflected on the journey the franchise has been on and recalled all the times he used to joke with Walker about Fast 68. Those memories help Walker and Brian live on, Lin said, which makes the impending finale more poignant. Lin said:
It's interesting because I feel like Fast 9, coming back, it was about connecting a lot of these characters and also introducing a new character that's existed this whole time in Jacob, but also bringing back Han. There were a lot of things that we were trying to do, and it was fun to be able to work on that and bring that to life. But in a way, Fast 10, these next two chapter, has a different route. And it all started around 2008. I remember when I first met Paul and Vin when we were doing Fast Four. We just started talking about, if we're lucky enough one day, what would be the final chapter? You could ask Vin. I know with Paul and I, I never thought that was real. I thought it was just a theoretical conversation. And we had talked about, "What would Fast 68 be?" And sometimes we joke, but coming back and when Vin talking about the last chapter to the saga, I go back to those conversations that started in 2008. I think Brian lives on, but more importantly for me, Paul lives on because of those conversations. And I think every day I'm working on it, I'm trying to hopefully do that justice.
Brian wasn't forgotten in F9, with the character seemingly pulling up to a barbecue at the end of the film. After all, though Walker has passed, Brian is still alive in the Fast & Furious universe. Lin previously hinted that Fast & Furious 10 and 11 could still find a way to bring Brian back, though how remains to be seen. Both Diesel and Jordana Brewster have also been open to the idea of casting Walker's daughter in a future movie, which could make for an emotional passing of the torch.
The how might be unclear, but it's certain that Walker's presence will be felt as the Fast & Furious franchise draws to a close. He was a key part of making the series what it is today, and while he sadly cannot be here to see how it ends, his Fast family will be sure to do him proud. The tenth movie is currently scheduled for 2023, so it will be a while before more details emerge. In the meantime, fans can revisit this year's F9 and the other movies to help tide them over.
The Director's Cut of F9: The Fast Saga is now available on digital and Blu-ray from Universal Home Entertainment.