F. Gary Gray's The Fate of the Furious has fundamentally changed the Fast and Furious franchise in some significant ways. As the first entry in the series to completely move away from Brian O'Conner in the wake of Paul Walker's tragic death, the film's cast (both old and new alike) faced a distinct challenge with taking the series in a new direction. One actor who seemed to understand that responsibility was Scott Eastwood, whose longtime friendship with Paul Walker ultimately inspired him to sign on to the cast. Eastwood spoke out about what happened as part of the movie's Blu-ray release, noting,
Paul was one of my best friends. He was like an older brother to me. It was definitely an emotionally charged decision. Why not be part of something he was a part of?
Honestly, those comments have us all choked up, and we're not even remotely ashamed to admit it. Scott Eastwood's remarks (which he made in the special features of the new Fate of the Furious home release) add a seriously emotional undercurrent to his presence in the film. The 31-year-old son of Clint Eastwood and Walker were apparently close friends for twenty years leading up to Walker's passing in 2013, and the opportunity to step into Walker's franchise must've felt like a no-brainer.
On that note, it's easy to see how the role of Little Nobody feels tailor-made for someone close to Paul Walker. From his status as an inexperienced government agent to the Subaru he drives during the film's New York City sequence, almost everything about Little Nobody feels like a direct homage to Walker's Brian O'Conner. It's the sort of fan service that this franchise always does well, so it's clear that Eastwood thoroughly enjoyed honoring his friend.
Faithful to the core thesis of the Fast and Furious series, it sounds like everyone on the cast and crew treated him like a regular member of the team as soon as he stepped onto the set. Eastwood continued:
They accepted me Day 1. I can't thank everyone enough for bringing me in and treating me like family.
We absolutely love Scott Eastwood's turn in the Fast and Furious franchise, and it's beginning to look like he has finally found a franchise that he can call home. Even with the legacy of his father to prop his name up, Eastwood never really found a major blockbuster series during the early years of his career, causing him to float between horror films like the decidedly lackluster Texas Chainsaw 3D and less memorable roles, such as playing a Navy SEAL in David Ayer's Suicide Squad. In that regard, Little Nobody is finally putting Eastwood on the map, and we cannot wait to see how he continues to honor Paul Walker's legacy if he returns for future installments.
F. Gary Gray's The Fate of the Furious is currently available on DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital; CinemaBlend will bring you more information related to the future of this franchise (plus Scott Eastwood's potential involvement) as more details become available to us. For now, make sure to take a glance at our 2017 movie premiere guide for more up to date information about the rest of this year's major film releases.
