• Vin Diesel broke down in tears honoring Paul Walker at a special Cannes midnight screening of the original Fast and the Furious
• The screening marked the franchise’s 25th anniversary, with costars Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster also in attendance
• Meadow Walker, Paul’s 27-year-old daughter, joined Diesel on the red carpet and shared an emotional moment with him after the film
• Diesel revealed one of his three conditions for making the final Fast movie is reuniting Dom and Brian O’Conner onscreen
• Fast Forever, the franchise finale, is set for a March 17, 2028 theatrical release

Vin Diesel wasn’t planning to cry in front of a sold-out crowd at the Cannes Film Festival. But then the credits rolled on The Fast and the Furious, and 25 years of memories — and grief — came flooding back all at once.

The actor stood at the microphone inside the Grand Lumière Theatre just after midnight on May 13, having just watched himself and his late best friend Paul Walker fall into a brotherhood on the big screen for the very first time. And he just couldn’t hold it together.

“I can’t even believe you want to see me fucking cry,” Diesel told the crowd, visibly emotional.

Then came the words that had the entire theater reaching for tissues: “I pray that in your life, you can have a brother like Paul.”

A Night 25 Years in the Making

Cannes selected The Fast and the Furious for a special midnight screening to celebrate the franchise’s 25th anniversary — a fitting tribute to a movie that, when it opened in the summer of 2001, nobody could have predicted would launch one of Hollywood’s most profitable franchises ever. Directed by Rob Cohen and co-written by David Ayer, the original film grossed $207 million worldwide on a reported $38 million budget. What followed was 11 films, a spinoff, and more than $7 billion at the global box office.

Diesel arrived at the Palais des Festivals at 11:55 p.m., stepping out of his car to walk the red carpet in a diamond-encrusted black blazer with “Fast Forever” — the name of the upcoming franchise finale — embroidered on the back. He signed autographs, struck poses for the wall of photographers, and worked the crowd on the Croisette with the energy of someone who knew exactly what the night meant. Joining him were costars Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster, franchise producer Neal H. Moritz, and NBCUniversal Entertainment chairman Donna Langley.

And then there was Meadow Walker.

Paul Walker’s 27-year-old daughter walked the red carpet alongside the cast, and her presence made the entire night feel like something more than just an anniversary celebration. It felt like a reunion with someone who couldn’t be there.

“The Best One’s Still in the Can”

Before the screening began, Diesel took the mic to address the packed house — and stayed on it for a while. He joked with Cannes director Thierry Frémaux about the unexpectedly massive crowd: “Thierry, where did you get everyone? I’ve never seen a midnight screening like this in my whole life. It’s not like this movie hasn’t been out for a minute.”

He recalled something Frémaux had told him over lunch earlier that day — that Diesel had first come to Cannes 31 years ago as the writer, director, and star of his 1995 short film Multi-Facial, carrying a laundry bag as a suitcase, unknown to the world. “You said, ‘The reason why it’s so special that you’re here now is because, in my mind, you, Vin, were born in Cannes,'” Diesel recounted.

The crowd shouted “we love you” back at him. He got laughs. He got applause. At one point, nearing 12:30 a.m. and aware he was monopolizing the mic, he cracked: “Fuck the film. I’m only here once in my whole life.”

But when he turned to talking about Paul, the room shifted.

“It wasn’t on the script at first that this blond-haired, blue-eyed guy would be a brother to me,” Diesel said. He described how, after every premiere, Walker would quietly pull him aside. “After every premiere, he’d sit with me — no one else could be around. He just would walk off with me and whisper into my ear, ‘the best one’s still in the can.'”

“It’s so hard for me to watch it,” Diesel continued, “because there’s so many moments in this movie that you see, that I see differently. The scene that you see, I see the moment Pablo told me he had a 1-year-old daughter.”

That daughter was sitting in the theater with him.

Meadow Walker and a Moment That Stopped the Room

After the film ended, Diesel pulled Meadow close and shared what she had told him earlier in the day. “She said, ‘I’m 27, and I’m watching this film that my father made at 27,’ and I thought, ‘How profound.'”

He wiped a tear from her face. “Meadow has been such a source of strength,” he told the crowd. “And I know he’d be so proud of you.”

Meadow briefly addressed the audience as well, saying the cast had been a “source of strength” for her in the years since her father’s death. Paul Walker died in November 2013 at age 40 in a car accident, before he could finish filming Furious 7. That film was completed using archival footage and his brothers Caleb and Cody as body doubles, and released in 2015 with the Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa tribute “See You Again.”

Rodriguez and Brewster were right there with them, all of them wiping tears as the sold-out audience rose for a four-minute standing ovation.

The bond between Diesel and Meadow is one that’s been quietly documented for years. Diesel is her godfather, and the two have remained close since Paul’s death. He and his partner Paloma Jiménez even named their youngest daughter Pauline in tribute to his late costar. Meadow, for her part, runs the Paul Walker Foundation in her father’s honor and made a cameo appearance in 2023’s Fast X.

One More Ride — and Brian O’Conner Is Coming Back

The night wasn’t only about looking back. Diesel made clear that the past is fuel for what’s coming next.

“The only reason why we’re making the finale of Fast for 2028 is because of each and every one of you that has given us your hearts and your loyalty,” he told the crowd. “Each and every one of you that has felt like you were a part of our family — you make us have to continue. You make us want to make you all proud. What you’re gonna watch tonight is the beginning of one word, and that word is love.”

Fast Forever, the planned franchise closer, is scheduled to hit theaters on March 17, 2028. Louis Leterrier, who directed Fast X, is set to return, with Michael Lesslie aboard as screenwriter. And Diesel has already hinted at what fans most want to hear: Brian O’Conner will be part of the ending. At Fuel Fest in June 2025, he revealed his three conditions for making the finale — bringing the story back to L.A., returning to street racing culture, and reuniting Dom with Brian.

How exactly that reunion happens — whether through archival footage, the Walker brothers, or something else entirely — remains one of the most anticipated questions in the franchise’s history.

But on this night in Cannes, with Meadow Walker beside him and Paul’s face on the screen, Vin Diesel wasn’t thinking about box office or release dates. He was thinking about a blond-haired guy who used to whisper in his ear after every premiere and tell him the best was still to come.

The post Vin Diesel Cries for Paul Walker at Cannes Fast Screening appeared first on Cream.

• Vin Diesel delivered an emotional speech honoring Paul Walker at a special Cannes midnight screening of the original Fast and the Furious
• Paul’s daughter Meadow Walker, 27, attended alongside Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster for the franchise’s 25th anniversary
• Diesel wiped away tears and embraced Meadow in a long hug, telling her Paul would be “so proud” of her
• Meadow shared a striking detail with Diesel: she is now the same age her father was when he made the film
• Diesel confirmed the final Fast film, Fast Forever, is set for March 2028, with plans to reunite Dom and Brian O’Conner

Vin Diesel couldn’t hold it together — and nobody could blame him. Standing inside the sold-out Grand Lumière Theatre at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, May 13, with his late co-star Paul Walker’s daughter by his side, Diesel broke down in tears as he addressed the crowd after a special midnight screening of the original The Fast and the Furious. The film was shown to mark the franchise’s 25th anniversary, and the emotion of the night hit like a freight train.

“I pray that in your life, you can have a brother like Paul,” Diesel said, pausing to collect himself before continuing. “I can’t even believe you want to see me f**king cry.”

He wasn’t alone in those tears. Co-stars Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez were both wiping their eyes, as was Meadow Walker — Paul’s 27-year-old daughter, who made the rare red carpet appearance in a stylish olive green ruffled gown. The audience responded with a four-minute standing ovation.

A Night That Was Always Going to Be Emotional

The midnight screening was already a lot to process. Cannes calling a street racing movie a “classic” after 25 years is one thing. Watching the bond between Diesel and Walker play out on the big screen — knowing what came after — is something else entirely.

Diesel, 58, admitted as much. “It’s so hard for me to watch it because there’s so many moments in this movie that you see, that I see differently,” he told the packed theater. “The scene that you see, I see the moment Pablo told me he had a 1-year-old daughter.”

That 1-year-old daughter was Meadow. She was 15 when Paul died in a car accident in November 2013 at age 40. Now she was sitting in that same theater, watching her father at 27 — her own age — fall into one of cinema’s most unlikely brotherhoods.

She told Diesel about it earlier in the day, and he couldn’t let it go. “She said, ‘I’m 27, and I’m watching this film that my father made at 27,’ and I thought, ‘How profound,'” Diesel shared with the crowd.

He also dug up a memory that felt like it belonged only to him and Paul. “After every premiere, he’d sit with me — no one else could be around,” Diesel recalled. “He just would walk off with me and whisper into my ear, ‘the best one’s still in the can.'” Then, almost to himself: “It wasn’t on the script at first that this blond-haired, blue-eyed guy would be a brother to me.”

Meadow Was Never Going to Let Him Do This Alone

Before the screening even began, Diesel made sure the crowd knew exactly who was in the room. After introducing Rodriguez and Brewster, he turned his attention to Meadow.

“This is a film where brotherhood was introduced to our millennium, by myself and my brother Pablo,” he said. “And the person that was not going to let me come alone here to represent that brotherhood is Meadow Walker.”

The applause was immediate and thunderous. Diesel looked like he was barely keeping it together. “I’m gonna go and shed a tear real quick,” he said — and then proceeded to do exactly that for the next several minutes.

After the film ended, Diesel pulled Meadow in for a long hug. He wiped a tear from her face and told her directly: Paul would be “so proud” of her. Meadow, for her part, called the Fast cast a “source of strength” in her life — a sentiment that feels even heavier when you consider she’s known most of them since she was a child.

Diesel is Meadow’s godfather, and their bond has been one of the most consistent threads running through the Fast franchise’s off-screen story. He walked her down the aisle when she married Louis Thornton-Allan in the Dominican Republic in October 2021, standing in for Paul. A source told Us Weekly that same year that Meadow “counts Vin and his kids as family and will talk to them on days she’s struggling.” Diesel and his partner Paloma Jiménez even named their youngest daughter Pauline — now 11 — in tribute to his late co-star.

Meadow has also carved out her own place in the Fast universe. She appeared in 2023’s Fast X as a flight attendant, and she keeps her father’s memory alive through the Paul Walker Foundation, which she founded. Jordana Brewster also shared “family portraits” from the Cannes photo call on Instagram, captioning them with a nod to the anniversary: “not bad for 25.”

A Night Full of Moments — Including Some Lighter Ones

The evening wasn’t all tears. Diesel hit the Palais des Festivals red carpet at 11:55 p.m. in a diamond-encrusted blazer with “Fast Forever” embroidered on the back, working the Croisette crowd with the kind of energy that made him a movie star in the first place.

Inside, he grabbed the mic before the screening and riffed on the absurdity of the packed house. “Thierry, where did you get everyone?” he joked, addressing Cannes director Thierry Frémaux. “I’ve never seen a midnight screening like this in my whole life. It’s not like this movie hasn’t been out for a minute.”

He also shared something Frémaux had told him over lunch that clearly meant a great deal. “You said to me, ‘Vin, you came here 31 years ago as a director, writer and actor of a short film. When you came, you had a laundry bag as a suitcase. No one in the world knew you. The reason why it’s so special that you’re here now is because, in my mind, you, Vin, were born in Cannes.'”

The crowd was so warm, so loud, so unwilling to let the moment end that Diesel eventually acknowledged he was pushing it — and leaned in anyway. “Fuck the film,” he joked. “I’m only here once in my whole life.”

The franchise he’s spent 25 years building has earned over $7 billion at the worldwide box office. The original 2001 film, directed by Rob Cohen and co-written by David Ayer, made $207 million on a $38 million budget. By the time Fast X came around in 2023, the budget had ballooned to over $300 million. Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious both crossed $1 billion globally.

What Comes Next — Including Brian O’Conner

The Cannes celebration arrives as the franchise heads toward its finish line. Fast Forever, the 11th and supposedly final mainline film, is set for March 17, 2028, with director Louis Leterrier returning and Michael Lesslie aboard as screenwriter.

Diesel has been clear about his conditions for making it. “The studio said to me, ‘Vin, can we please have the finale of Fast and Furious?'” he told fans at Fuel Fest last June. “I said, ‘Under three conditions.’ First, to bring the franchise back to L.A. The second thing was to return to the car culture, to the street racing. The third thing was reuniting Dom and Brian O’Conner.”

How exactly Brian returns — Paul’s character is still technically alive in the Fast universe, though Furious 7 gave him a tearful sendoff — hasn’t been spelled out. But Diesel has said he couldn’t imagine ending the saga without truly saying goodbye to Brian O’Conner.

And beyond the movie, the Fast world is expanding further: at NBC’s upfronts on May 11, Diesel announced that Peacock is launching four shows set in the Fast and Furious universe.

But on Wednesday night in Cannes, none of that was the point. The point was a father who made a movie at 27, and a daughter who is now 27 watching it — and the man who loved them both standing between those two moments, trying not to fall apart.

“Meadow has been such a source of strength,” Diesel said, his voice catching. “And I know he’d be so proud of you. I love you forever.”

The post Vin Diesel Cries Remembering Paul Walker at Cannes appeared first on Cream.

• Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, and Tyrese Gibson reunited at Cannes for a 25th anniversary screening of The Fast and the Furious
• Paul Walker’s daughter Meadow Walker, 27, surprised fans by joining the cast on the red carpet
• Diesel delivered an emotional speech honoring Paul Walker and introduced Meadow to the crowd
• Diesel wore a custom jacket embroidered with the Fast Forever logo — the final film, due March 17, 2028
• The Cannes appearance came one day after Diesel announced four new Fast & Furious TV projects at the NBCUniversal Upfront

Twenty-five years after Dominic Toretto first fired up that Dodge Charger, the family came back together — and this time, they brought someone very special with them.

Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, and Tyrese Gibson reunited at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, May 13, for a midnight screening of the original The Fast and the Furious at the Grand Lumière Theatre. It was a full-circle moment for a franchise that started as a scrappy street-racing thriller and grew into one of the biggest movie franchises in history. But the night’s most emotional moment didn’t come from the film — it came from who was standing on that red carpet alongside them.

Meadow Walker, the 27-year-old daughter of the late Paul Walker, was there. She joined the cast for both the photocall and the screening, and one early moment said everything: Vin Diesel — her godfather — pulling her into a warm embrace before the group posed for photos together.

Diesel’s Emotional Speech Left the Room in Tears

Before the film rolled, Diesel addressed the crowd, and he didn’t hold back. He spoke about the franchise’s roots, about brotherhood, and about the man who helped build it all.

“This is a film where brotherhood was introduced to our millennium, by myself and my brother Pablo,” Diesel told the audience. “And the person that was not going to let me come alone here to represent that brotherhood was Meadow Walker.” He paused. “I’m gonna go and shed a tear real quick.”

He went on to tell the crowd that Meadow had called the franchise’s cast a “source of strength” — and a visibly emotional Diesel said that Paul would be “so proud” of her. “I pray that in your life, you can have a brother like Paul,” he said.

After the screening ended, Meadow and Diesel shared another emotional hug — the kind that doesn’t need any caption.

Paul Walker, who played Brian O’Conner across six films, died in a car accident in November 2013 at just 40 years old. His final franchise appearance came in Furious 7 (2015), which was released two years after his death and closed with one of the most quietly devastating sendoffs in blockbuster history. Meadow herself made a brief cameo in 2023’s Fast X, keeping that connection to her father’s world alive.

Diesel Wore the Future on His Back

Even the outfit had a message. Diesel arrived wearing a jacket custom embroidered with the Fast Forever logo — the title of the final film in the mainline franchise, currently set for a March 17, 2028 release. He made clear the finish line is in sight, but it’s coming on the fans’ terms.

“I just want you all to know, the only reason why we’re making the finale of Fast for 2028 is 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 that has felt like you were a part of our family — you make us have to continue. You make us want to make you all proud. What you’re gonna watch tonight is the beginning of one word. And that word is love. I love you all.”

Also on hand for the evening were producer Neal H. Moritz, who has shepherded the franchise since day one, and Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley — a reminder that this wasn’t just a nostalgia trip. It was a statement.

The Cannes celebration came just one day after Diesel was in New York City for the NBCUniversal Upfront, where he announced that four new Fast & Furious TV projects are in development — including one set up at Peacock. The franchise that started with a $38 million budget in 2001 is now a full-blown multimedia universe, and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

But on Wednesday night in Cannes, none of that mattered quite as much as the image of Vin Diesel standing next to Meadow Walker, honoring a brotherhood that started 25 years ago and clearly isn’t going anywhere.

The post Fast & Furious Cast Reunites at Cannes — With Meadow Walker appeared first on Cream.