'Furious 7' Cast Talks About Finishing the Film to Honor Paul Walker's Legacy

The notion of family has always been a major theme in the Fast and Furious movies, and its cast members have become as tight-knit as real relatives. That bond became tragically apparent when Paul Walker, one of the series’ lead stars, died in a car crash about halfway through the production of Furious 7, and the heartfelt tributes from his co-stars poured out in the days and weeks that followed.

The movie was immediately put on hold as franchise distributor Universal and its filmmakers decided how (or if) to finish the sequel, ultimately enlisting Walker’s brothers, Caleb and Cody, to complete his scenes. Walker’s work family, meanwhile, had their initial reservations, but as they explain to Yahoo Movies in the video above, all quickly agreed they had to complete the movie in Paul’s honor. It was the “No. 1 goal,” when they came back, according to director James Wan.

Vin Diesel, who considered Walker his best friend, recalled Walker mentioning to him at a premiere for Fast and Furious 6 that the best Furious movie was still to come. “Man, after that tragedy did I hear that voice in my head,” Diesel told us. “A large reason why I came back to finish the movie — why we all came back to finish the movie — is because there was some truth to that. And what if this was the best one, and we never finished it? Would we have left the best one in the can unfinished?”

Related: An Emotional Vin Diesel Remembers the Moment His Best Friendship With Paul Walker Was Forged

Tyrese Gibson said he felt like they were doing the right thing when Walker’s parents voiced their support for the film’s completion. “And then when Cody and Caleb Walker came to help us finish the movie, that took the comfortability to new heights,” Gibson said.

Dwayne Johnson was raring to go once he heard they would in fact finish the movie: “I thought, ‘Hell yeah.’ Let’s get to work. Because it’s an opportunity to finish something for Paul that he couldn’t finish.”

"None of us knew how it was going to end up, and whether it was the right thing to do," said Jordana Brewster, who plays Mia, the wife of Walker’s Brian O’Connor. "But ultimately when I watched the movie I was really, really happy we did, because Paul’s so good in it, and I’m so happy that fans get to see the last thing he did."

Related: Vin Diesel, ‘Furious 7′ Family Honor Paul Walker in Preview

As Ludacris put it, “We were all going through the mourning process, but what I think was most important is that we came back together and stayed strong for each other and we were able to finish the film because we knew we had to honor his legacy.”

Furious 7 opens Friday. Watch Vin Diesel share more memories of Paul Walker: