Paul Walker's brothers open to 'Fast' franchise return

Nearly five years after Paul Walker's death, his brothers say they're open to playing his character again in the "Fast and Furious" franchise.

Producers asked Caleb and Cody Walker to fill in for their brother and help complete "Furious 7" after he died in a fiery off-set car crash in November 2013.

His face was digitally superimposed onto his brothers' performances for scenes that Walker had not yet shot and in a modified ending in which his character Brian O'Conner drives off into the sunset.

In this Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018 photo, Cody Walker, Paul Walker's brother, poses for a portrait in Los Angeles, in promotion of the documentary film "I Am Paul Walker." Nearly five years after Paul Walker's death, his brothers, Caleb and Cody Walker, say they're open to playing his character again in the "Fast and Furious" franchise. (Photo by Rebecca CabageInvisionAP)

The character remains alive in the fictional "Fast" universe and is mentioned twice in 2017's "The Fate of the Furious."

"I just hope we get to — I don't know — have a little cameo and bring Paul back to save the day and I get to help create that again," Caleb Walker, 40, said in an interview last week. "That's my dream and I hope we get to do that in one of the future movies."

"I think there could potentially be a way to do it. But it would take a lot of thought and it'd have to be tasteful. It would have to be tasteful," Cody Walker, 30, said in the interview. "He was the real deal, the real car guy. And in his absence, I — you know — I think it's lost its way in a big way."

In this Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018 photo, Cody Walker, from left, Adrian Buitenhuis and Caleb Walker, pose for a portrait in Los Angeles, in promotion of the documentary film "I Am Paul Walker." The new one-hour documentary about the actor's childhood, family and career is directed by Buitenhuis. It premiered last weekend on the Paramount Network. (Photo by Rebecca CabageInvisionAP)

Caleb and Cody Walker were promoting "I Am Paul Walker," a new one-hour documentary about the actor's childhood, family and career directed by Adrian Buitenhuis. It premiered last weekend on the Paramount Network.

Both Walker brothers became fathers for the first time last year and live in Southern California. They have not re-watched the full "Furious 7" film since attending the premiere in April 2015.

"It's kind of creepy sometimes when you're like, 'Oh, that's me.' It doesn't feel right," Caleb Walker said. "I think one day, when our kids are little older and we are able to share that experience with them and be like, 'Hey look, this is your uncle Paul. He was the greatest guy in the world and here we are being able to portray him and finish up this movie for him.' That's when I think it will really hit that I think it was really worth it and special and all that. But in the meantime, it's still a little conflicted."

In this Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018 photo, Adrian Buitenhuis, director of the documentary film "I Am Paul Walker," poses for a portrait in Los Angeles. The new one-hour documentary is about the actor's childhood, family and career. It premiered last weekend on the Paramount Network. (Photo by Rebecca CabageInvisionAP)

Walker was 40 years old when the Porsche Carrera GT he was riding in spun out of control, struck three trees and burst into flames on a street in Santa Clarita, California.

The next scheduled film in the "Fast" franchise is a spin-off featuring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. It's set for release next year.

In this Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018 photo, Caleb Walker, actor Paul Walker's brother, poses for a portrait in Los Angeles, in promotion of the documentary film "I Am Paul Walker." Nearly five years after Paul Walker's death, his brothers, Caleb and Cody Walker, say they're open to playing his character again in the "Fast and Furious" franchise. (Photo by Rebecca CabageInvisionAP)

In this Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018 photo, Cody Walker, Paul Walker's brother, poses for a portrait in Los Angeles, in promotion of the documentary film "I Am Paul Walker." The new one-hour documentary about the actor's childhood, family and career is directed by Adrian Buitenhuis. (Photo by Rebecca CabageInvisionAP)

TOKYO (AP) — The American envoy to the United Nations called Friday for countries armed with atomic weapons to pursue nuclear disarmament as she visited the atomic bomb museum in Nagasaki, Japan.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who became the first U.S. cabinet member to visit Nagasaki, stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy amid a growing nuclear threat in the region.

“We must continue to work together to create an environment for nuclear disarmament. We must continue to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in every corner of the world,” she said after a tour of the atomic bomb museum.

“For those of us who already have those weapons, we must pursue arms control. We can and must work to ensure that Nagasaki is the last place to ever experience the horror of nuclear weapons,” she added, standing in front of colorful hanging origami cranes, a symbol of peace.

The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. A second attack three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more people. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.

Nagasaki Gov. Kengo Oishi said in a statement that he believed Thomas-Greenfield's visit and her first-person experience at the museum “will be a strong message in promoting momentum of nuclear disarmament for the international society at a time the world faces a severe environment surrounding atomic weapons.”

Oishi said he conveyed to the ambassador the increasingly important role of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in emphasizing the need of nuclear disarmament.

Thomas-Greenfield's visit to Japan comes on the heels of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to the United States last week and is aimed at deepening Washington's trilateral ties with Tokyo and Seoul. During her visit to South Korea earlier this week, she held talks with South Korean officials, met with defectors from North Korea and visited the demilitarized zone.

The ambassador said the United States is looking into setting up a new mechanism for monitoring North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Russia and China have thwarted U.S.-led efforts to step up U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile testing since 2022, underscoring a deepening divide between permanent Security Council members over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

She said it would be “optimal” to launch the new system next month, though it is uncertain if that is possible.

The U.N. Security Council established a committee to monitor sanctions, and the mandate for its panel of experts to investigate violations had been renewed for 14 years until last month, when Russia vetoed another renewal.

In its most recent report, the panel of experts said it is investigating 58 suspected North Korean cyberattacks between 2017 and 2023 valued at approximately $3 billion, with the money reportedly being used to help fund its weapons development.

The United States, Japan and South Korea have been deepening security ties amid growing tension in the region from North Korea and China.

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, right, speaks to Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, second right, as they wait for a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, right, walk to meet Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, talk prior to a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, prepare to talk during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)