Paul Walker's Daughter Reunites With Vin Diesel's Kids

"I don't person friends, I person family."

So Vin Diesel's Dom Toretto declares in Furious 7, 1 of galore nods to the motor-oil-is-thicker-than-blood taxable of the full $6 billion Fast and Furious franchise, which astatine its core—aside from the speedy cars and the progressively chaotic things you tin bash with them—is each about friendship, the benignant that defines the conception of thrust oregon dice successful much ways than one.

But portion immoderate actors conscionable study for enactment and spell location astatine the extremity of the day, implicit the people of a decade the halfway formed also started to see themselves a family. And when Paul Walker died successful a car crash Nov. 30, 2013, at the property of 40, Diesel felt arsenic though he'd mislaid a brother. (He would person turned 49 Sept. 19.)

The 55-year-old actor, who skipped the archetypal sequel aft the sleeper occurrence of 2000's The Fast and the Furious, yet co-starred with Walker successful five Fast and Furious films, including Furious 7, which was inactive in production erstwhile Walker died. Diesel hopped connected a level to California close distant erstwhile helium heard the news, acrophobic particularly astir his goddaughter, Meadow Walker, Paul's lone child.

"There was ever moments of child-like laughter...We had accomplished truthful overmuch by 2013...P.s. The complexities of Brotherhood, and the achy void... of it's absence," the actor wrote connected Facebook Jan. 2, 2014, 1 of numerous tributes he's shared implicit the years honoring his friend.  

But portion the grief flowed distant arsenic 1 mightiness expect pursuing specified a tragic loss, 1 felt passim Hollywood arsenic Walker was remembered arsenic 1 of the astir genuine good guys you could anticipation to meet, their astir 15-year bromance was the existent deal, 1 rooted successful the franchise's scrappy beginnings.

"Do you remember, backmost successful 1999, erstwhile you and I were doing probe and we went to an amerciable thoroughfare car rally?" Diesel asked his co-star during a associated Q&A league for Movie Fone up of the May 2013 merchandise of Fast & Furious 6. "And astir a fractional an hr later, you and I are moving from helicopters and wondering, Was this excessively overmuch research?"

Of people Walker remembered. "It was awesome," helium said.

Diesel recalled, "When we archetypal did this, we were reasoning we had an accidental to bash a Rebel Without a Cause. We thought that we were doing a classical car movie and we would bash 1 and that would beryllium it." Instead, helium continued, determination they were, wondering if the program would beryllium to then make "seven, eight, nine? Or seven, eight, nine, 10."

Needless to say, they called each different member arsenic they shook hands and signed off.

"What it did much than thing was said the household validated what we were doing," Diesel told Extra in 2015, "and conscionable seeing them there, wanting to support the bequest of idiosyncratic they attraction truthful overmuch astir was an empowering feeling, and they were conscionable truthful generous and unrelenting successful wanting to assistance and bash thing to assistance america decorativeness this bequest and implicit this task that we had. That was the astir important happening ever for us."

In announcing the film's merchandise date, Diesel shared a pic of Dom and Brian, writing, "The past country we filmed together…There was a unsocial consciousness of completion, of pridefulness we shared… successful the movie we were present completing… the magic captured… and, successful conscionable however acold we've come...Fast and Furious 7 volition beryllium released…April 10th 2015!"

"P.s. He'd privation you to cognize first."

By the clip it was released (later bumped up to April 3), Diesel had named his 3rd child, calved that March, Pauline.

Explaining his determination to instrumentality to the franchise for Fast & Furious, Walker—an admitted "gear head" who loved cars but was besides funny successful branching retired into juicier acting roles—told Australia's Girl.com.au in 2009 that helium loved the bosom of the archetypal movie (2 Fast 2 Furious was ace fun, helium said, but it didn't have that familial soul) and helium fundamentally saw it arsenic a bully accidental to spell and bent retired with his friends.

"Our chemistry is that we don't person immoderate chemistry," helium said with a laughter astir himself and Diesel. "That's the comic thing. He's East Coast, I'm West Coast. You know? We respect each different arsenic quality beings. And that's astir each it takes, you know? We get around, we laugh. But we person specified 2 wholly antithetic approaches to this full game."

In that, helium knew Diesel was precise comfy surviving that movie prima life, portion Walker had galore different interests driving him. 

Asked astir the inevitable next film and whether he'd privation to beryllium successful it, Walker said helium would genuinely privation for it to beryllium the champion 1 yet, not conscionable a vague "bigger and better" situation.

They each returned for Fast & Furious 6 and that was expected to beryllium however they rolled for the foreseeable future, minus characters mislaid to crippled twists. But portion they were tragically forced to accidental goodbye to Brian in Furious 7, the movie purposefully allowed fans to representation him inactive surviving connected a formation successful paradise somewhere. 

And the bid decidedly did not run retired of gas.

"I deliberation that's the astir flattering happening that idiosyncratic successful the Fast household could perchance say," the WWE prima turned ubiquitous histrion told Insider in June 2021. 

"The root of Vin's comments, I deliberation Vin is truthful overmuch amended to reply that than me," Cena, 45, added. "Hearing thing similar that, man. Certainly, you person expectations to privation to bash your best. The value and the gravity of a connection similar that is not mislaid connected me."

Sharing thoughts with Walker astir additions to the franchise was routine for Diesel, who recalled astatine the 2015 Hollywood Film Awards astir however some of them were excited erstwhile Kurt Russell came aboard for Furious 7. "I retrieve talking to Paul astir it," helium told Russell, his dependable getting huskier with emotion. "There was arsenic consciousness of validation that specified a large histrion wanted to travel into our ensemble and beryllium a portion of our movie, truthful convey you for that."

"We've travel a agelong way," Diesel continued astatine podium, where their movie was being honored with the Hollywood Blockbuster Award. "Fifteen years ago, Paul, Jordana and Michelle [Rodriguez] and I became a family—and that's wherefore you heard it 45 f--king times a movie." Both actresses, lasting down him, burst retired laughing. But, helium added, "we became a household and we've been blessed capable to..."

Diesel paused.

"You know, it's hard to speech about Furious 7. It's hard to celebrate Furious 7," helium said. Taking a heavy breath, helium explained that helium had planned not to speech astir Walker that night. Yet "when you've had a member similar that, it's intolerable not to. When we made a movie that made the full satellite outcry with us, it's intolerable to person an grant and I consciousness emotional."

After immoderate thank-yous, Diesel concluded, "I emotion you all, and convey you for recognizing that angel. It's a small lonelier without him, but I cognize he's looking down connected us—and I cognize he's happy, and I cognize he's smiling, 'cause each of you person acknowledged him. This is for Pablo."

The actor, who's since been toggling betwixt franchises, getting down the instrumentality arsenic Dom and declaring himself Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, told Entertainment Tonight that it remained arsenic important arsenic ever for the Fast household to support Walker successful their hearts.

"That does absolutely have to happen," helium explained. "I can't envision making a Fast film continuing this mythology without my member Pablo's psyche being the guiding spirit."

And there's inactive a spot for him astatine the table. "The information that Brian O'Conner is inactive live successful this beingness needs to beryllium acknowledged," Justin Lin, who antecedently directed Walker in 2 Fast 2 Furious, told Entertainment Weekly. "We're treating F9 arsenic the archetypal movie of the past chapter, and astatine immoderate constituent it is thing I deliberation astir and however we tin truly amusement his beingness but successful a respectful way. So it's ever ongoing. I consciousness similar successful 9 we've done it successful a mode that I consciousness bully about, but, arsenic we spell into trying to wrapper up the saga, it's thing that I volition proceed to ever beryllium reasoning through."

"Weeks distant from the F9 release... successful preproduction for the finale that starts lone months from now... @meadowwalker sends maine this representation and tells maine however blessed the photograph makes her feel," Diesel wrote connected Instagram June 6, showing disconnected a 2000-era throwback pic of him and Walker sent to him by his precocious buddy's present 22-year-old daughter.

"Naturally, 1 gets filled with emotion, intent and yet gratitude. Eternal brotherhood is simply a blessing beyond words. Hope to marque you proud... All love, Always."

Meadow, who was 15 erstwhile her dada died, has remained adjacent with Diesel's whole family, including his daughters, Hania, and Pauline and lad Vincent (who made his movie debut successful F9, playing young Dom).

Asked about a photo Meadow had shared of them unneurotic successful May 2021, captioned "family <3," Diesel told ET that helium had actually just been connected the telephone with Meadow earlier sitting down for the interview.

"That's truthful comic that you accidental that," helium said. "I virtually conscionable got disconnected the telephone with her. That means everything, and that's what household does and it goes beyond the occurrence of the franchise. That's astir the occurrence of your soul."

Coming done for her erstwhile again, Diesel walked Meadow down the aisle that twelvemonth erstwhile she wed Louis Thornton-Allen in a beachfront ceremony. Her godfather knew much than anyone however arrogant her dada would person been.

(E! and Universal Pictures are some members of the NBCUniversal family.)

(Originally published June 17, 2021, astatine 5 a.m. PT)