Following the death of Paul Walker Universal Studios has had some difficult decisions to make about Fast & Furious. The movie was on a production break when Walker died, and there were also questions about whether it was appropriate if Walker does remain in the movie, whether his last film should be about racing fact cars.
Universal was quick to pledge a portion of the proceeds from the upcoming US home entertainment release of Fast & Furious 6 to a charity Walker co-founded. Now that have announced that they are officially halting production on Fast & Furious 7 indefinitely.
A statement from Universal says, “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. We are committed to keeping Fast & Furious fans informed, and we will provide further information to them when we have it. Until then, we know they join us in mourning the passing of our dear friend Paul Walker.”
There have been rumours that Universal is looking at whether Walker has filmed enough of the movie that he can still be part of the film, or whether a complete rewrite to retire his character will be needed.
Walker’s autopsy results have now confirmed that the actor died from a combination of traumatic and thermal injuries, meaning both the impact of the crash and the fire caused his death.
Hollywood has been left in shock with the news that Fast & Furious star Paul Walker has died, aged 40, in a car crash in Southern California. Walker was the passenger in a car which apparently hit a pole and then burst into flames. The driver was also killed.
Paul Walker is one of those actors who ought to be contractually obliged never to wear a shirt. Swiss luxury tobacco goods manufacturer Davidoff obviously feel the same, as for their Cool Water ‘Love the Ocean 2’ initiative in partnership with National Geographic, the first thing they did was send his to the beach and get him to show some skin.
Gladiator, Constantine and Amistad actor Djimon Hounsou is an amazing actor, and it’s always seemed a bit of a shame he hasn’t gotten the credit he deserves – although he’s undoubtedly the most successful actor to ever come out of Benin.
Universal is keen to get the cameras rolling on Fast & Furious 7 as quickly as possible, in the hope they can get it in cinemas next summer. However before then there are some new cast members to add.