14 DAY TRIAL // Apart from helping the studio complete the latest “Fast & Furious” movie, Cody Walker, Paul Walker's younger brother, is said to have signed on for a different role, that has been recently introduced to replace the character Brian O'Conner.
The Daily Mail reports that while Paul Walker's character, Brian O'Conner, will be retired in this movie, as a way of honoring Paul Walker's death, the producers have decided to keep his brother Cody, after this movie is completed, on the next projects, and they have even introduced a new character for him.
Cody is a trained actor and a stuntman and, at 25 years old, was brought in to replace Paul Walker, who died in a tragic car crash in November last year. A source from the film set has told the newspaper that “Paul's character Brian O'Conner will be seen retiring, while his younger brother will join the crew.”
This is considered to be the best way to remember and honor the late actor, and many fans agree that Cody is going to be a good messenger to carry on the family tradition.
“Of course, Cody isn’t a replacement for Paul in any way, but the producers were really grateful that he stepped in to help them finish this last film and Cody so likeable and charming,” the source adds. “It would be a tribute to Paul that Cody carries on the Walker name in the Fast and The Furious movies.”
Apart from Cody, Paul's youngest brother, the producers also brought in the third brother in the family, Caleb, who is said to have been used by the producers to imitate Paul's body and mannerisms and voice, while Cody was brought in for his facial similarity to his departed brother.
The entire process of replacing Paul Walker was said to be rather complicated and very costly, since it involves recreating Paul's face using computer technology and slapping it on his brothers' body. Every scene has to be filmed twice, which is more time-consuming and more costly, but previous reports indicated that the studio was looking to cash in on a big insurance claim that was due to them since Walker died.
Right now, there is no news on whether Caleb too is going to continue acting in the movies, but since he's not a trained actor, chances are that his cinematic experience is going to end with this project.
Latest photos from the set of the movie show a disturbing similarity between Cody and Paul, and producers have admitted that the resemblance is often uncanny to the point of being scary. The other co-stars have also spoken on this aspect and expressed their regret at having lost one of their family.