When actor Paul Walker passed away he was in the middle of filming Fast And Furious 7 , the latest installment in the billion dollar franchise that made him famous.
After his tragic death in a fiery car crash on November 30, 2013 it was unclear whether the film would ever see its completion, however, producers — which include Vin Diesel — vowed to finish the latest installment in the franchise as a homage to Paul Walker.
Initially, the production was suspended immediately following the actor’s sudden death and as he is one of the main characters, producers had to scramble to come up with a solution to the very difficult situation with several scenes that were not shot at the time.
Now according to The Hollywood Report , Fast And Furioius 7 will resume at the start of April and will go on for approximately eight weeks.
Universal Studios confirmed that the film will include Paul Walker’s character, Brian O’Conner, one of the original characters in the successful franchise.
“Continuing the global exploits in the franchise built on speed, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead the returning cast of Fast & Furious 7, which will be released by Universal Pictures on April 10, 2015,” a statement from the studio said.
At the time of Paul Walker’s death the film was about half way done, with many scenes involving the 40-year-old actor yet to be filmed, the studio interrupted production and stated:
“Right now, all of us at Universal are dedicated to providing support to Paul’s immediate family and our extended Fast & Furious family of cast, crew and filmmakers.”
“At this time we feel it is our responsibility to shut down production on Fast & Furious 7 for a period of time so we can assess all options available to move forward with the franchise.”
Fast And Furious was established in 2001 with Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster and became a staple in American film.
As to how they will deal with the absence of Paul Walker , it is rumored that his brother Cody, will fill in for the last scenes required to complete the story of Brian O’Conner. Universal has not confirmed this rumor.
After much deliberation producers decided to press forth and give Paul Walker , who left an indelible mark on the franchise a proper send off. Brian O’Conner will be retired. It is unclear at this time what the future of the franchise as a whole is.
[Image courtesy of Vin Diesel/Facebook]