In the terrible aftermath of Paul Walker’s death last
November, one of the questions that no one wanted to ask was how the tragedy
would affect the “Fast and Furious” franchise he helped to build.
The 40-year-old actor was on a Thanksgiving hiatus from shooting “Fast
& Furious 7” when he was killed in a car accident. At the time of his passing, Walker had already completed filming the majority of his role.
Universal put the production on hold to allow cast and crew
time to mourn the loss of their friend and co-worker and the future of the film
remained uncertain in the ensuing months.
But now, producers say that his brothers, Caleb and Cody
Walker, will fill in the gaps on the remaining scenes.
In the photo below, the three brothers are pictured just six weeks before Paul’s death, when he served as the best man in 36-year-old Caleb’s wedding. Cody, 25, was also in the wedding party.
The franchise shared the news on Tuesday in “A Note to
the Fans” on Facebook:
The FAST & FURIOUS
saga is about family. The characters are connected by the bond of family, and
it is how all of us who have worked together for more than thirteen years feel
about each other. It certainly defines how we feel about our fans.
Our family experienced
an unthinkable shock in November. We had to take time to grieve Paul, the
brother we love and lost, and to figure out if we should move on with our film.
We came together and
all felt the only choice was to continue. We believe our fans want that, and we
believe Paul would want that too. Paul had already shot his dramatic scenes and
most of his action for FAST & FURIOUS 7, and it’s among the strongest work
of his career.
We have resumed
shooting and now welcome Paul’s brothers, Caleb and Cody, into our FAST family.
Caleb and Cody are helping us complete some remaining action for their brother
and fill in small gaps left in production. Having them on set has made us all
feel that Paul is with us too.
We are just under a
year away from the release of FAST & FURIOUS 7, and this film is the most
important we’ve ever done together. It will allow the character of Brian
O’Conner to live on and let us celebrate Paul in his most defining role.
The movie, which was originally slated for release this
summer, has been pushed back to April 2015.
