TheFast & Furiousfranchise has been through several different phases throughout the years, starting off as a grounded high-octane thriller and ultimately becoming a series of bold, stunt-filled action spectacles. However, throughout the saga, one thing has always remained at the heart of the story: it’s always been a narrative about family. This subplot came to a head inFurious 7when Brian O’Conner waswritten out of the story due to Paul Walker’s tragic death, andhis character was given the family ending that he deserved. But the franchise had actually been hinting at this ending for a while.
WithFast and Furious 11marking the end of the beloved franchise,the absence of Brian’s character is becoming more and more obvious. The decision to keep the character alive was a respectful one that made sense in the story, but it also forced the writers to keep explaining why he’s not been around in the films. However, there’s actually a very clear explanation that was written into Brian’s backstory several films prior to his exit, giving a hint about where his story was going to end up long before the writers could have possibly known the exact details.
Brian O’Conner Having An Absent Father Explains Why He Never Leaves His Kids
One Scene From Fast Five Explains Brian’s Family History
InFast Five, it’s revealed during an exchange between Dom and Brian that the latter has an absent father who left during his childhood. As Dom is reminiscing on the peaceful childhood that he shared with his sister, Brian admits: “I don’t even remember what the hell [my father] looked like.”It’s a very powerful moment that offers a grounded feelto an otherwise outlandish story, cementing the fact that it’s the characters, not their surroundings, that have always been the heart of this franchise.
This minor scene actually proves to be hugely important inFurious 7when it comes to bringing Brian’s story to a close: the knowledge of his poor relationship with his father makes it all the more believable that he would leave everything behind to take care of his own children.He wants to break the cycle of poor parenting that so heavily impacted his own life, focusing instead on his family and leaving Dom to take care of the racing world. It’s a powerful ending that totally fits his character, and consequently explains why he’s not appeared in-universe since then.
Fast & Furious Has Done A Good Job Justifying Brian’s Absence So Far
The Later Sequels Have Explained His Retirement Well
Paul Walker’s death during the filming ofFurious 7was a tragedy for many reasons, but his character’s exit from the franchise also raised some important questions about its future. Alongside Dom,Brian had been the face ofFast & Furioussince the very beginning- without him, it wasn’t clear exactly what direction the story was going to take.Brian is absent duringFast Xand misses out on some of the franchise’s most important moments, but for the most part, the films have done a good job of explaining why he’s not been present.
For example,the films have included several hints that Brian is still part of Dom’s lifeand makes frequent appearances off-screen, he’s just not involved in the international espionage and anti-terrorist plots that Dom always finds himself at the center of. His car appears at the end ofF9as Dom prepares for a family barbecue, which is a subtle way of confirming that Brian is still around and has a healthy family life.
Maintaining Brian’s ending has caused some plot holes that aren’t easily explained, but the logical problems are better than the alternative of forgetting Brian.
It would have been a huge misfire for the films to completely ignore Brian’s character after his exit inFurious 7, not least because he left on family grounds and the majority of his family is still around in the films. That means that he’s always got to be accounted for and frequently mentioned to make his presence seem natural, and the writers have done a good job of ensuring that throughout the last few sequels.Maintaining Brian’s ending has caused some plot holesthat aren’t easily explained, but the logical problems are better than the alternative of forgetting Brian.
Brian’s Absence From Fast & Furious Is Getting Less Believable After Fast X
There’s No Way He Can Stay In Retirement Much Longer
That being said, the writers are seriously going to have their work cut out for them after the events ofFast X. Dom’s feud with Dante Reyes is undeniably the biggest threat he’s faced so far, and if there was ever an opportunity for Brian to come out of retirement and help his friend, this would be it. Of course, that’s going to be extremely difficult without recasting the character entirely, butthere has to be an in-universe reason for Brian’s absence fromFast & Furious 11. It wouldn’t make sense for him to sit this one out.
Additionally, Dante’s quest for revenge isn’t just against Dom - it’s going to affect Brian and his family directly.The crime syndicate is seeking vengeance against everybody who was involved in the death of Hernan Reyes, and Brian was among the central players in that event.Fast & Furiouscannot avoid Brian any longer, particularly if he’s targeted by Dante to avenge his father.
Fast & Furious 11 Has To Do More Than Justifying Why Brian Isn’t There
The Character Should Be Involved In The Final Story
Justifying Brian’s absence just isn’t going to be enough anymore. There’s no way that he escapes Dante’s vendetta entirely, which means thatFast & Furious 11is finally going to have to tackle the issue of bringing his character back in some form. Of course, that’s going to be extremely difficult without recasting the figure entirely, but there are definitely ways that the film could include the character without having him appear on-screen. He doesn’t have to play a major role, butthe film needs to recognize his role in this storywithout simply waving him away as “absent.”
Additionally, withFast & Furious 11almost certainly marking the end of this saga, it wouldn’t be fair to bring this story to a close without paying tribute to Brian in some way. It’s been over 20 years since Paul Walker first adopted this role inThe Fast and the Furious, and despite his absence, he’s still an enormous part of this franchise today. There will likely be some kind of tribute to the actor in the finalFast & Furiousmovie, like the ending ofFurious 7, that finally brings his journey to an end and gives him a true retirement.
Fast and Furious 11
Cast
Fast X: Part 2 is the final movie in the Fast Saga. It reunites Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto with the rest of the cast for one last ride. However, the franchise is open for spinoff films like Hobbs & Shaw afterward.
