Paul Walker Tribute Explained By Fate of the Furious Screenwriter

**SPOILER ALERT**

Do not progress forward if you do not wish to be spoiled by plot details for The Fate of the Furious.


The death of Paul Walker will continue to be felt far and wide in the Fast and Furious franchise. For someone in the position of Chris Morgan, the task of dealing with the actor's passing in 2013 is a delicate balancing act of treating his legacy with respect whilst also having to progress the story forward with Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and the rest of the crew.

Speaking with Collider, screenwriter Morgan outlined the basic synopsis for the 8th installment to argue that the crisis of faith would usually be where Brian O'Connor (Walker) helped to fill the void.

“In terms of this movie, with that ending we really just wanted to touch, for the audience as well as for the characters, the issue of Brian and the issue of Paul and specifically—spoilers, so you’re gonna have to figure out how you say this or don’t say this, but what the characters go through in this movie is super dramatic, basically their entire world gets shattered," he remarks. "The guy who is their father figure, their brother, their husband, who’s taught them their moral code, suddenly betrays it all, goes rogue, goes against them, and it becomes a real question of faith."

O'Connor Gone But Not Forgotten

As Dom names his child Brian in tribute to his friend and colleague that is still alive in the universe, that was a chance for Morgan to acknowledge what the fans were feeling still three-and-a-half years after the loss.

"So, do you guys just fall apart? Do you stick together? It’s so dramatic for the characters that at some point they would definitely turn to each other and say, ‘Oh my God, we gotta tell Brian, we gotta tell Mia. Something is going on with Dom, we don’t know what it is’ So I think from a practical point of view for the characters you needed to address it. For the audience, and just as a fan as the writer on it, I also wanted to have one moment where we were able to—specifically at the beat at the end of the film—say to the audience, ‘We’re thinking of him too’ in a respectful sort of way.”

Furious 10 In The Works as Morgan and Vin Drive On

As the series has proven, dramatic changes may need to be made in the blink of an eye. Regardless of fluctuating circumstances, Morgan said that he and Diesel already have the blueprints in place for another two movies minimum.

“We’d talked about bigger mythology and kind of where the character will go. It’s always kind of bigger discussions but we set out from the beginning to do 8, 9, and 10 so that’s how we’re designing it. Vin and I have always kind of worked on it, we’re always thinking forward, fractioning ideas around and outlining things, but I’m not writing on it just yet.”

Although these plans are bold, the actual work will not commence for Morgan until Universal give him a deadline to work with.

“It’s no secret that Vin is a big D&D guy and so am I, and we kind of look at the franchise kind of like the way someone would run a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Every movie is like a challenge for the characters and if they solve the plot then they kind of level-up emotionally in some way. So we’re always thinking about it in the greater kind of saga and the greater mythology, so we’re always working on it. When I actually physically start writing it is when the studio comes in and says, ‘Alright go. We have a date and got this and now we’re going.'”

Source: Collider

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