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Where Is Brian O'Conner During Fast X

September 18, 2023
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 After last appearing in Fast 7, fans have been wondering where Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) is during Fast X, and if he'll return to the franchise.

SUMMARY

  •  Brian O'Conner is safe from Dante in Fast X, as previous films have shown that he is raising his children with Mia.
  •  Brian and Mia must be cautious and hide from Dante, who has targeted Brian based on a personal vendetta against the Toretto and O'Conner families.
  •  Vin Diesel has promised that Brian will have an important role in Fast 11, emphasizing the decision to keep him alive in the franchise after Paul Walker's death.


With the Fast and Furious franchise drawing to a close with Fast 11, fans have been left wondering where Brian O'Conner is during the events of Fast X. Played by Paul Walker in every installment from the original Fast and Furious (2001) all the way through to Furious 7 (2015), Brian has been an integral part of the Fast Family as the undercover cop turned member of Dominic Toretto's street gang. Even though the actor passed away tragically in 2013 in an auto-related collision, Vin Diesel and the studio have always found a way to incorporate him into the films, whether through the use of CGI, pictures, flashbacks, or dialogue.


Fast X finds Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) on a personal vendetta against the Toretto and O'Conner families for the death of his father and the loss of his family wealth. As Dom and other characters in Fast X try to stay one step ahead of his vengeance, Mia (Jordana Brewster) gets caught in the crossfire. While it might seem strange that Brian is nowhere to be found, previous Fast and Furious installments point to why he would be reluctant to join in the fight, where he might be during the movie's most explosive and dangerous action sequences, and if he'll return for Fast 11.


Fast X Confirms That Brian Is Safe From Dante

As Dante continues to hunt down Dominic and the rest of his family, it's only a matter of time until he finds Brian and Mia. However, as previous installments in the franchise have shown, they're safe together raising their son and daughter. In The Fate of the Furious, Brian is briefly mentioned in a conversation between Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson), who both agree that they can't "bring Brian and Mia into this." In F9, Brian and Mia remain offscreen taking care of Dom and Letty's adopted son Little B until Brian's blue Nissan Skyline can be seen in Dom's driveway for the barbecue.


Brian technically does appear in Fast X through flashbacks to Fast Five, when he was instrumental with Dom in taking the vault containing the Reyes family wealth that resulted in the death of Hernan Reyes. When Mia gets word of Dante's vendetta against him, she goes off to warn Brian and the children and they go into hiding. The fate of the O'Conner family is unknown by the end of the film because Fast X's cliffhanger ending leads into Fast 11.


Where Brian & Mia Might Be In Fast X

With Dante studying the Fast family history, and Brian appearing in so many of his "vision boards" that indicate him as a target, he and Mia have to be particularly careful. Anywhere they go will have to be a place that Dante hasn't thought of looking. Mia already comes under attack in Fast X, and while it might seem strange that Brian isn't risking his life to save her as usual, it's obvious that his obligations lie with the children and keeping them out of harm's way.


Brian and Mia know that the Agency thinks they're villains, and given that Dante's war has already cost Fast Family members like Jakob his life, it makes sense that they would eventually leave Los Angeles. Their criminal lives have given them connections all over the world that they might have called on in Fast X to hide out. Characters like Armando have already offered them protection before, so it's possible they would return to the Dominican Republic, and they also have connections in the Canary Islands.


Will Brian O'Connor Return In Fast 11?

Paul Walker last appeared in person as Brian O'Conner in Furious 7, but his tragic death in 2013 during production meant that some of his scenes needed to be digitally finished. It was necessary to give Brian a reason to put the wild life of the Fast Family in his rearview mirror, so narratively, his character settled into being a stay-at-home dad to raise his children with Mia. Of course, they both got pulled into the action from time to time, and he had to find a way to balance both of his families without anyone getting hurt.


Based on everything we know about Fast 11, Vin Diesel has promised that Brian is going to play an important role when the second part of Fast X marks the finale of the franchise. After Walker's shocking death, the decision was made to keep Brian alive in the franchise rather than kill him off specifically so that he would have a meaningful contribution to the fate of the Fast family going forward. With the help of Brian's brothers Cody and Caleb Walker, who finished his scenes with a little CGI in Furious 7, Brian could make his final appearance in the franchise in person alongside everyone else.