Vin Diesel recently confirmed that the next installment of the oh-wow-did-they-just-do-that Fast & Furious franchise is currently in development, dropping hints that the new mega-action flick will take place in New York. However, without Paul Walker to reprise his role as Brian O’Connor, many fans are left wondering how the franchise will pull off an eighth installment, with some pointing to Paul’s brother Cody as the most obvious replacement. 

Paul Walker was killed in a car accident in 2013, which prompted his brother Cody to step up and play the part of O’Connor in several scenes in order to complete Furious 7. 

Furious 7 was spectacularly successful, racking in huge amounts of money at the box office and passing several major milestones to become one of the highest-grossing movies->ke3897 of all time, both stateside and abroad. And that’s a tough act to follow.

With the sequel now breaching the horizon, questions remain over whether or not Cody Walker will return, and if he does, whether he will once again play the part of Brian O’Connor or a completely different character. 

Cody Walker is currently busy filming alongside Nicholas Cage in the film USS Indianapolis, his first major role since stepping in to complete Furious 7.

Vin Diesel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson and Jason Statham are all confirmed to return in the next Fast & Furious.

Furious 8 is expected to hit theaters April 14th, 2017. 

Fast & Furious

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There are a few certainties when it comes to the next F&F. Simply put, it’s gonna be over the top in every single way. The stunts, explosions, gun battles, and most importantly, the cars, will all seek that next level of excitement. It’ll be bigger, faster and crazier – you can be sure of that.

But I seriously doubt it’ll come anywhere close to the same level of success as Furious 7. Paul Walker was a staple of the original films, which leaves the brains behind the series with two options – one, insert some plot device as to why O’Connor is no longer around, or two, sign Cody on as a replacement and hope the audience is ok with it. Neither are very appealing.

While tragic, I’m sure that Paul Walker’s death helped to draw in moviegoers when Furious 7 was released and contributed to its overall success. The next films will undoubtedly suffer without him, but maybe Cody can salvage what’s left.

Why it matters

Furious 7