Movies & TV | Jul 21, 2021 08:10 AM EDT

Paul Walker Made Heroic Move On 'Fast and Furious' Franchise Before Death

By Alexandria Reeves

Paul Walker reportedly saved Tyrese Gibson's character and gave him another chance to appear in a "Fast and Furious" movie.

Gibson can still remember how hard Walker fought for his character, Roman Pearce, and demanded the character's reappearance in "Fast Five."

Initially, the franchise did not have plans to bring Gibson's character again after it first appeared in "2 Fast 2 Furious" alongside Walker and Chris Bridges. The character serves as the childhood friend of Walker's Brian O'Conner.

After his first stint, Gibson's Roman did not appear in the next two installments - "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" and "Fast & Furious."

Following the latter film, the creators planned a rebranding by turning all the racing into a greater action movie. Despite the possible plot, they still refused to bring back Gibson's character.

Fortunately, the actor found an ally in Walker who reportedly demanded his character to be brought back to the spotlight.

How Paul Walker Managed to Bring Back Roman Pearce?

In a new interview with EW's Binge, the 42-year-old actor said how Walker involved himself in a fight in pursuit of bringing back Roman.

Per Gibson, the studio found it hard to include Roman in the franchise. However, Walker saved him and assured him that he would join the team again.

"Paul knew there was a bit of an obstacle that we had to get through in order for us to all band together for Fast Five," he said, as quoted by Cinema Blend. "I mean, I get emotional when I think about this guy; for damn near three movies, he kept begging and pleading and trying to talk to the studio and directors and Vin."

Finally, Gibson stepped up again for the "Fast Five."

The actor further explained that he hanged up with the lead star. Because of the amount of time they spent together, Vin Diesel reportedly realized that he could be one of the movie's assets.

In return, Gibson did his best to assure that his character would not be devalued by other characters.

With the kindness Walker show, it is not surprising that even the recent installments paid tribute to him.

For the upcoming "Fast 9," Director Justin Lin revealed that he always considers how to honor the late actor. Indeed, in the latest "Fast and Furious" movie, they included him again in two subtle scenes.

First, footage of Walker's character from the "Furious 7" was inserted in "F9." The last one included a scene between Dom and Jakob before they tried to escape the cops.