‘Fast & Furious 7’ Will Retire Paul Walker’s Character Brian O’Conner

Fast & Furious 7 will retire the late Paul Walker’s character, Brian O’Conner, and not kill him off.

Following Walker’s tragic death on November 30, Universal has had to adjust the direction of its multi-million dollar franchise.

Director James Wan, writer Chris Morgan, and Universal’s executive Jeffrey Kirschenbaum are changing the script to “gracefully” retire Paul Walker’s character in Fast & Furious 7 with footage already shot, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The information says that O’Conner won’t be killed off or completely removed from the film.

The script will be changed to allow Paul Walker’s character –one of the original ones– to drive off into the sunset, literally.

A quiet, but strong presence, Walker will surely be missed by cast, crew, and fans, but with the remaining actors led by his “brother” Vin Diesel, the Fast & Furious franchise should be able to continue for a few years.

At first, Universal suspended production indefinitely, to allow cast and crew to deal with the loss of Paul Walker’s tragic death.

Soon after, the studio and Vin Diesel –who is also a producer– announced that Fast & Furious 7 would go on as a tribute to Walker.

In the weeks following the tragic death of the actor, Wan, Morgan, and Kirschenbaum reviewed the footage Wan had already shot and after careful consideration decided they could work with what they had and tweak the script to write the character off.

Killing off Brian O’Conner, would have certainly upset everyone as Paul Walker was obviously a beloved figure in Hollywood, so the next best thing is to let his character disappear, which doesn’t end the franchise and satisfies the fans, as much as is possible.

The report has not been confirmed or denied by Universal, but in general, THR has good contacts and is a reliable source.

On Friday, the results of the autopsy on Paul Walker were released –as previously reported by The Inquisitr— and revealed that the Porsche he and driver Roger Rodas were in was traveling at over 100 mph.

The car slammed into a tree and a light pole on Rodas’ side then after spinning, hit a second tree on Walker’s side of the car and caught fire.

No drugs or alcohol was found on the Fast & Furious star or his friend, according to the medical examiner.

Paul Walker’s farewell installment Fast & Furious 7 is set to open on April 10, 2015.