Paul Walker and Vin Diesel took a lot of pictures together over the years — especially in the last few years before Paul’s untimely death.
Movie fans and critics first paired Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in their minds as an essentially dynamic duo when the two actors introduced the world to Dominic Toretto and Brian O’Conner in the 2001 blockbuster hit The Fast and the Furious . The Rob Cohen-directed film beautifully blended the world of illegal street racing, turned Vin Diesel and Paul Walker into action movie stars and laid the groundwork for what is set to become a 10-movie franchise.
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker’s performances in the first Fast and Furious movie helped the film generate nearly $207.3 million at the box-office worldwide. However, the duo did not reunite on-screen as Dominic and Brian again until the fourth installment of the franchise nearly eight years later.
Vin and Paul took quite a few pictures together between 2009 and Paul’s death in November 2013 — including the numerous promotional pics and red carpet photos of the 3 Fast and Furious installments filmed and completed during that time. After Paul’s tragic death, Vin continued to share photos of himself and Paul along with other memories and experiences that the two shared on and off-screen. Perhaps that would explain why quite a few of Vin’s fans and followers on Instagram assumed he was posting yet another picture of himself and Paul Walker on Tuesday. Perhaps Vin’s simple “proud” caption may have helped to fan the flames of nostalgia in that direction. However, if those fans who were mistaken took a moment to look a little closer at the photo, they would have likely noticed that they were off.
A post shared by Vin Diesel (@vindiesel) on
Comments and honorary tributes flooded the page shortly after the picture was posted from longtime fans of Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and the Fast and the Furious franchise – such as:
- “Great photo of you and Paul Walker.”
- “YESSSSSS Paul Walker”
- “When I see u again”
- “Miss you Paul Walker”
- “We miss you Paul”
- “This breaks my heart”
Even though the man standing next to Vin Diesel in this posted picture looks like Paul Walker, it is definitely not him. However, he would undoubtedly feel honored by that comparison, since Paul was his big brother.
That’s right! It is Cody Walker — Paul’s youngest brother. Fast and the Furious fans may remember Paul’s brothers Cody and 39-year-old Caleb Walker for helping director James Wan finish what their big brother started in Furious 7 . There are even rumors and theories circulating online that Cody may return to the Fast and the Furious franchise for one of the two presumably final films. Regardless of whether or not he does, it is apparently clear that Cody and Paul Walker had a very strong family resemblance.
Many fans and critics would agree that the 2009 film Fast and the Furious breathed new life into the franchise.
?????? ???? Fast and Furious 2009 ????? https://t.co/86Be9mjqk9 pic.twitter.com/UVVUkZFNHJ
— 4cima.tv (@4cima_tv) August 5, 2017
In addition to reuniting the core cast members from the original film, the fourth installment seemed to amp the action and drama to new heights – paving the path for new installments and new characters (Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Charlize Theron and Gal Gadot to name a few) along the way.
Cody and Caleb helped to fill in the gaps left behind in Furious 7 after Paul Walker passed away in a devastating car crash. With a little help from CGI and a lot of support from the cast members and fans, Furious 7 was viewed and praised as a proper farewell ride for Paul’s character.
Paul Walker CGI Fast and Furious 7 VFX Breakdown https://t.co/LClNPHPDYO #3d #cgi #vfx #animation #vfxbreakdown pic.twitter.com/dy41Nu0yWe
— CGMeetup (@CGMeetup) August 11, 2017
A CGI Paul Walker was considered for The Fate of the Furious https://t.co/NWHvXhwyCK pic.twitter.com/65ewLjDyae
— Flickering Myth (@flickeringmyth) July 6, 2017
Chances are that Vin Diesel was expressing how “proud” he was of Cody Walker because of how well he grabbed the baton with Paul Walker’s charity Reach Out Worldwide (ROWW) and ran with it. Cody has also played an instrumental role in the “Game4Paul” fundraising campaign that raises even more money for ROWW.
[Featured Image by Jon Furniss/Invision/AP Images]
