Universal Studios today confirmed that the brothers of late actor Paul Walker will be used by director James Wan to bring Fast & Furious 7 to a close.
This has been speculated for a while, basically ever since Walker died in a tragic car accident while the production was on hiatus. Rumors swirled that Wan and the studio would need to rely on some form of CGI to complete scenes that Walker hadn’t yet shot. Now, in a statement (acquired by ComingSoon), Universal reveals that Walker’s siblings will be used… and explains why that is relevant to this film series:
A Note to the Fans of FAST & FURIOUSThe 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.We wanted to take a moment to speak to our fans directly and thank you for the love and support you always show us as we resume our work."
Fast 7 resumed production earlier this month, while co-star Jordana Brewster recently took the stage at the MTV Movie Awards to pay tribute to her deceased colleague.
Wan is racing to meet an April 10, 2015 release date. I believe that Fast fans will give the sequel the benefit of the doubt when it comes to closing the loop that is Brian’s saga. I like the fact that they are using Walker’s brothers. There’s real symmetry in that. What do you think?
