Part of the cast of “The Fast and Furious” L-R, Dwayne Johnson, Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and Tyrese Gibson |
I am sure this is the question that the Universal (Studio behind “The Fast and Furious” franchise) executives will need to tackle. The death of Paul Walker (Who played the role of Brian O’Conner) has certainly created a twist in the tale. Walker had been filming the seventh installment since September. Now they will have to decide what to do with that role.
Variety reports it is unclear how much of Walkers footage had been shot, while The Wrap alleges production is already more than halfway done. Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter claims a large part of the movie had been shot, but additional scenes were to be filmed in January in Abu Dhabi with Paul and the main cast.
Production was on hiatus over the Thanksgiving holiday and was set to resume this week in Atlanta, Georgia, sources confirm to Yahoo Movies, but will be halted in the meantime. Reportedly, there will be a delay in production, but the movie will not be abandoned entirely.
THR reports “Fast & Furious 7” director James Wan met with Universal to discuss the future of the project, how to re-work the script, and “how to proceed in a manner that would be respectful to Walker’s death.”
Franchise favorites Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, and Dwayne Johnson are all back for “Fast & Furious 7,” which was scheduled for release on July 11, 2014. The Fast franchise has grossed more than $2.3 billion at the worldwide box office.