During Paul Walker’s brief absence fromFast & Furious, he starred inInto the Blue— and it could’ve been the actor’s replacement action-adventure franchise. After playing Brian O’Conner inThe Fast and the Furiousand its first sequel,2 Fast 2 Furious, Walker was missing fromthe threequel,The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. He only returned to the role of Brian in 2009’s soft reboot, simply titledFast & Furious, which moved away from the series’ focus on street racing and turned it into a more straightforward action movie franchise.
WhileBrian is undoubtedly Walker’s most iconic character, he had a very respectable career outside theFast & Furiousfranchise, too. He played a notorious bank robber in the heist movieTakers, he played a parole breaker in the car chase movieVehicle 19, and he played a low-level mafioso in the neo-noir thrillerRunning Scared. One of Walker’s starring vehicles,Into the Blue, was a missed opportunity to headline a new franchise. During hisFast & Furioushiatus,Into the Bluecould’ve launched a Walker-centric franchise to replace it.
Into The Blue Could’ve Been Paul Walker’s New Fast & Furious
It Does For Treasure Hunters What Fast & Furious Did For Street Racers
In 2005, Walker co-starred with Jessica Alba, Scott Caan, and Josh Brolin in the action thrillerInto the Blue. The plot revolves around a group of divers who go on a treasure hunt to find a sunken plane full of illegal cargo.Into the Bluearrived in theaters during Walker’sFast & Furioushiatus. It came out a year beforeTokyo Driftand four years before Walker would finally reprise his role as Brian in the fourthFast & Furiousfilm. In theory,it could’ve been the start of a new franchise to replaceFast & Furiouson Walker’s schedule.
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Into the Bluecombines the pulpy sense of adventure of theIndiana Jonesfranchise with the high-octane bombast and delightfully far-fetched absurdity of theFast & Furiousfranchise. Each movie could’ve followed the divers on a different underwater hunt for a different sunken treasure. They could’ve gone to a sunken pirate ship in search of lost gold. They could’ve gone to the wreckage of the Titanic looking for wealthy passengers’ antique jewelry. This property had endless possibilities, butit failed to recoup its production budget at the box office, grossing $46,117,696 against a $50 million budget(viaBox Office Mojo).
Why Paul Walker Returned To Fast & Furious After Missing Tokyo Drift
The Studio Decided To Take The Franchise In A New Direction (Which Was Short-Lived)
Walker revealed thatBrian’s absence fromTokyo Driftwas a studio decision. After Vin Diesel turned down their offer to appear in the thirdFast & Furiousfilm, the studio wanted to take the franchise in a completely different direction. Although Walker, unlike Diesel, was willing to reprise his role after starring in the first two movies,the studio bosses wanted to pivot to a spin-off mostly disconnected from the previous films.Tokyo Driftrevolves around a brand-new character — Sean Boswell, played by Lucas Black — but he proved to be nowhere near as popular as Brian or Dom Toretto.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drifthas a “rotten” critics’ score of just 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, although it has a warmer audience score of 69%.
AfterTokyo Driftbecamethe lowest-grossing installment in theFast & Furiousfranchiseand received mixed reviews from critics, the studio decided to go back to the original direction.The next movie,Fast & Furious, shifted away from street racing, but it brought back Brian, Dom, and the rest of the original crew. The only real connection toTokyo Driftwas Han, whose character proved to be lovable enough to join the main cast. Any bad blood between Walker and the studio that rejected him forTokyo Driftwas quickly forgotten about as he reclaimed his place as franchise star.
Into The Blue Got A Sequel (But Without Paul Walker & Jessica Alba)
Into The Blue 2: The Reef Was Released Direct To DVD In 2009
WhileInto the Bluedidn’t make enough at the box office to launch a blockbuster franchise and Walker would eventually return toFast & Furious,Into the Bluedid eventually get a standalone sequel.Into the Blue 2: The Reefwas released direct to DVD in 2009.None of the original actors returned, including Walker, so the sequel’s only connection to its predecessor is its title and a similar storyline. It revolves around a team of divers who go searching for Columbus’ hidden treasure under the sea.
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4 years before Paul Walker’s send-off, Fast and Furious long laid the foundation for Bryan O’Conner’s retirement at the end of Furious 7.
The sequel was directed by Stephen Herek, who’s best known for helming classic comedies likeThe Mighty Ducks,Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, andDon’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead. SinceWalker’s charisma was the only reasonInto the Blueworkedon any level, the sequel was pretty disappointing. But it did prove thatInto the Bluehad the potential to be a great action movie franchise likeFast & Furious.
Source:Box Office Mojo
Fast & Furious
The Fast & Furious franchise revs through the adrenaline-fueled lives of Dominic Toretto and his crew of street racers turned global heroes. From the neon-lit streets of Los Angeles to the bustling cities and remote outposts worldwide, they take on high-stakes heists, espionage, and the underground world of street racing. Bound by loyalty and driven by the need for speed, they confront mercenaries, corrupt officials, and personal vendettas all in the name of their found family.
