Vin Diesel Pays Tribute to Paul Walker From ‘Fast 8′ Set

Nick Schager
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Paul Walker and Vin Diesel in 2013 (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

The Fast and the Furious franchise will drop its eighth (!) installment next April, complete with Charlize Theron as the newest villain to face off against Vin Diesel’s Dominic Torreto and his crew of hot rod-racing, bad guy-fighting outlaws. And while production is still ongoing, Diesel took time out to post some thoughts about his late co-star Paul Walker, whose November 2013 death prior to the release of Furious 7 sent shockwaves through Hollywood.

Related: First Look at Charlize Theron in ‘Fast 8’ and More Photos From the Set

In an Instagram post from yesterday, Diesel made it clear that, although Walker is no longer by his side on-screen, he remains in his mind and heart as the series moves forward:

Many of the crew members who have worked on several of the past Fast films are here again to help us make something special. One of them at the end of the week came up to me and said wow what we are capturing on film is excellent… And then looked at me and said Paul would be proud. #wemakethemwithourhearts

A photo posted by Vin Diesel (@vindiesel) on May 21, 2016 at 1:05pm PDT

Diesel’s touching tribute comes on the heels of a May 6 video that the star posted to Twitter in which he and director F. Gary Gray provided a sneak peek at some of the classic-car action being shot in Cuba. That boisterous video suggests that, though Walker’s absence will undoubtedly loom large over the proceedings, the sequel won’t be short on the franchise’s trademark multicultural electricity.

Fast 8 comes out on April 14, 2017, and will be followed by two more already announced sequels in the years to come — Fast 9 on April 19, 2019, and Fast 10 on April 2, 2021.

Related: 'Furious 7’ Director James Wan Expected Oscar Nomination for Keeping Paul Walker Alive