Vin Diesel was in tears at Cannes on Wednesday night, and no one in the room could blame him.
The actor joined co-stars Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez as well as Paul Walker’s daughter Meadow, 27, for a special midnight screening of the original The Fast and the Furious as part of the festival’s classic segment.
As the credits rolled on the 2001 film, all four were visibly emotional. The sold-out crowd responded with an extended standing ovation.
Before the lights went down, Diesel took the microphone from the center of the packed theater to address the audience and delivered one of the more memorable speeches Cannes has seen in recent years.
He expressed his gratitude to festival director Thierry Frémaux and recalled a conversation the two had shared over lunch earlier in the day.
“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,'” Diesel told the crowd.
“‘The reason it’s so special that you’re here now is that you, Vin, in my eyes, were born in Cannes.’
The crowd was clearly with him every step of the way, chanting “we love you” and bursting into repeated applause and laughter.
At one point, with characteristic self-awareness, Diesel acknowledged he’d been on the mic for a while, saying, “F–k the movie. I’m only here once in my life.”
Saving his most heartfelt words for last, he called out Meadow Walker by name and made it clear what the evening meant to him without his late co-star and friend present.
“This is a film where brotherhood was introduced to our millennium, by myself and my brother Pablo,” he said.
“And the person who wouldn’t let me come alone here to represent that brotherhood is Meadow Walker. I’m walking fast and shedding a tear, but I just want you all to know the only reason we’re making the finals in Fast for 2028 is because of each and every one of you who have given us your hearts and your loyalty.
Each and every one of you who have felt like you were part of our family keeps us going. You make us want to make you all proud. What you are going to see tonight is the beginning of a word, and that word is love. I love you all.”
It was a fitting tribute to a franchise that has defied all expectations of it.
What started as a relatively modest street racing film, made for a reported $38 million and directed by Rob Cohen from a script co-written by David Ayer, went on to become one of Hollywood’s most lucrative properties, grossing more than $7 billion worldwide across 11 films over 25 years.
Two of these installments, Furious 7 and The fate of the furiouscrossed the $1 billion mark at the global box office.
The saga is now heading towards its finale.
Fast Foreverdirected by Louis Leterrier with a screenplay by Michael Lesslie, is set to be released on March 17, 2028.
For Diesel, Wednesday night was both a homecoming and a farewell of sorts, a chance to sit with where it all began and who he began it with.
