The late Paul Walker‘s daughter, Meadow Rain Walker, had an emotional reunion with her dad’s costar Vin Diesel at the Cannes Film Festival.
Diesel, 58, and Meadow, 27, walked the red carpet on Wednesday, May 13, before a special screening of 2001’s The Fast and the Furious, which kickstarted the multi-billion dollar movie franchise. They were joined by two more of Paul’s late Fast Saga costars, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster, as well as producer Neal H. Moritz.
Before the screening, Diesel spoke about how special it was to revisit the very first Fast and Furious movie with Paul’s daughter in attendance, per People.
“The person who was not going to let me come alone here to represent that brotherhood was Meadow Walker,” he said. “I’m gonna go and shed a tear real quick.”
After some applause from attendees, Diesel honored the enduring legacy of the franchise as he works on the final chapter, 2028’s Fast Forever.
“The only reason why we’re making the finale for Fast for 2028… It’s because of each and every one of you that has given us your hearts and your loyalty,” Diesel said. “Each and every one of you has felt like you are a part of our family. You make us have to continue. You make us want to make you all proud.”
Meadow briefly spoke after the screening, stressing that the cast was a “source of strength” following her late father Paul’s death at age 40 in a 2013 car accident. Diesel wiped a tear from Meadow’s face while assuring her that Paul would be “so proud.”
Diesel and Meadow have often celebrated their bond over the years, including exchanging birthday greetings via social media and reuniting for Fast Saga events. Meadow even had a cameo in 2023’s Fast X as a flight attendant.
Inside the ‘Fast and Furious’ Cast’s Relationship With Meadow Walker
In October 2021, Vin stood in for Paul to walk Meadow down the aisle when she wed her husband, Louis Thornton-Allan, in the Dominican Republic. (The couple announced in December 2023 that they’d “amicably” separated.)
Us Weekly exclusively reported in June 2021 that Meadow had forged a tight bond with Vin and his family over the years. (Diesel and his partner Paloma Jiménez share three children: daughters Hania Riley Sinclair, 18, and Pauline Sinclair, 11, and son Vincent Sinclair, 16. Diesel and Jiménez chose the name Pauline for their youngest daughter in tribute to his late costar Paul.)
“[Meadow] counts Vin and his kids as family and will talk to them on days she’s struggling, and she has their backs too,” a source told Us at the time.
Cameo Alert! Paul Walker’s Daughter Meadow Teases ‘Fast X’ Appearance
Meanwhile, Vin has hinted that Paul’s character Brian O’Conner will somehow return in 2028’s Fast Forever. (The character has appeared in some of the recent Fast Saga movies through the use of archival footage as well as Paul’s brothers, Caleb and Cody Walker, standing in as body doubles.)
“The studio said to me, ‘Vin, can we please have the finale of Fast and Furious?’” Diesel told fans at Fuel Fest in June 2025. “I said, ‘Under three conditions.’ First, [it is] to bring the franchise back to L.A. [and] the second thing was to return to the car culture, to the street racing. The third thing was reuniting Dom and Brian O’Conner.”
Fast Forever will debut March 17, 2028.
