‘The Fate Of The Furious’ Pays Tribute To Paul Walker In A Big Way

Las Vegas- Paul Walker is gone but he’ll never be forgotten by his on-camera family.

On Wednesday, actor Vin Diesel attended Universal Pictures’ CinemaCon presentation to discuss the upcoming eighth installment in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, “The Fate of the Furious.”

While Walker, who died in 2013, hasn’t been in one of the films since 2015, Diesel revealed the new movie pays tribute to his late friend in many ways.

“It was a hard decision to make,” Diesel said when discussing deciding to continue the franchise without his leading co-star. “Part of Paul’s legacy lives through every frame we shoot,” he continued.

Diesel (who wore a “Brotherhood” shirt to the event) continued by sharing it was Walker who initially “promised” an eighth film in the series. “We never want to let him down,” Diesel stated.

When the rest of the “Fate of the Furious” cast joined Diesel onstage, actor Tyrese Gibson joined in on discussing Walker. “We move and operate and [are] directly inspired by our brother,” Gibson said when reminiscing about being with Walker at CinemaCon years prior.

Over the years, the “Fast and Furious” franchise has continued to grow and with that have come new storylines, characters, and actors, all of which Gibson says they’ve welcome with open arms. New to the trilogy this time around, Charlize Theron joins as a quiet but deadly villain and Kurt Russell reprises his role as Mr. Nobody.

“You could never imagine how much we go to make them a part of the family,” Gibson said.

“Fate of the Furious” premieres at CinemaCon on Wednesday. The movie opens in theaters on April 14.