In the wake of Paul Walker's death, Universal has shut down the production for the forthcoming "Fast & Furious 7."
The company released a statement on Wednesday to acknowledge the difficulty of making the filming without one of its main stars.
"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," reads the statement. "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."
Reports indicate that the production was halfway through its cycle with the team scheduled to arrive in Atlanta this week before heading to Abu Dhabi in January.
Walker was a major component of the franchise and played the role of Brian O'Connor. The actor was a significant part of production on the current movie and it is inevitable that the film's crew will have to find some way to excuse his absence in the film. While some may think it best to "kill him off," it might be a bit difficult to have an actor die in a film about fast cars, especially after his tragic death in a car accident. Brad Brevet of Rope of Silicon has a suggestion of his own for this dilemma.
"The best case scenario is to find some way to have Brian forgo involvement in whatever is set to take place in the next film, ride off in the sunset with Mia (Jordana Brewster) and their child and let that be the last of it. Vin Diesel can even have a line in the film, 'Even I don't know where they are. This is Brian's choice and I respect it,' writes Brevet.
The film is slated for a July 11, 2014 launch date, but it is likely that this gets delayed due to the untimely death of Walker and the subsequent production shut-down.