Fast & Furious director Justin Lin has confirmed that fans will see a glimpse of Paul Walker’s character Brian O’Conner in Fast and Furious 9.

Brian, who was played by Paul Walker until his tragic death in 2013, can be seen making a brief appearance in the latest trailer for the upcoming Fast & Furious movie.

Revealing that the idea that Brian O’Conner is “still alive” in the Fast universe is “very impactful and very important”; Justin Lin told Variety that the movie’s place in the series means there is scope to feature several characters.

“When we talk about Fast and Furious 9, this is the first time for me creatively approaching it not as just the one film. In the past, I’ve always felt like, we’re lucky enough to do one, let’s do everything we can. But Vin [Diesel] finally talked me into it, you know, when I came back, he’s like, ‘Well, let’s think about it as a final chapter,'” Lin explained.

“So Fast 9 is really the beginning of the final chapter of the saga, so in doing that I think there’s a lot of room to really place our characters, and Brian obviously is a big part of the universe still.”

The director went on to admit that he feels it would be more appropriate for the Fast & Furious movies to show Paul Walker’s character, rather than just refer to his off-screen presence through dialogue.

Paul walker in furious 7

“I want to always be very respectful and how we present that,” Lin added. “I think that [in] nine, you will feel the presence of Brian, for sure.”