Paul Walker is one of the pillars of the long-running, high-octane "Fast and Furious" franchise. Following his shocking death in 2013, the release of "Fast and Furious 7" in 2015 left fans, friends and colleagues in tears. Now with "Fast 8" in the works, the late actor's co-star and best friend Vin Diesel revealed he was conflicted about whether or not to continue the movie series after Walker's death.
"It is so f**king profound. Nobody has any idea where it's going to go and because of my unique and horrible experience, losing a best friend, I have this strange insight on what the future will be, and how dangerous a conversation that is," an emotional Diesel told news.com.au.
The 49-year-old actor added that they stopped shooting five months after Walker's death, which he described was a "very, very, very dark time" for him. It appears that Diesel is still grieving over the death of his best friends, who's been with him since the first day of "Fast and Furious."
He also addressed the issue about resurrecting Walker's image through technology, just like how he was made to appear by the end of "Fast 7." He revealed that he fought against the idea of having this version of Walker on-screen.
Diesel shared that he contemplated on not finishing the movie and just give Universal Studios back the insurance money he's been given to complete the film. However, he also thought of the fans and how the movie would be a gift to them.
"I could have not finished Fast 7 and given Universal back the insurance money but then there would be no Furious 7 and then the fans wouldn't get their last beautiful Furious 7 movie: A movie that celebrates the brotherhood of our millennium," Diesel said.
As for Cody and Caleb Walker, Paul's brothers, working on the film in his place helped them grieve and come to terms with his passing. Caleb told ET Online that working with his brother's close friends and co-stars made them learn more about their brother than they'd expected, adding that they heard "some really cool stories about him."
In the meantime, Cody and Caleb Walker are continuing Paul's passion project called Reach Out Worldwide. Right now, ROWW is in Louisiana helping out victims of the recent flooding.
"Fast 8" is scheduled to hit theaters on April 12, 2017.