14 DAY TRIAL // Though reports of earlier this week claimed that Universal had already decided to resume production on “Fast & Furious 7” after a period of mourning for actor Paul Walker, who was killed over the weekend, with rewrites and reshoots to handle his character’s exit, The Wrap has learned that the movie might be scrapped in its entirety.
That’s right, the production estimated at $200 million (€147.7 million) could be shelved and left to gather dust, because producers don’t believe there is any way to complete it without Walker, especially since his character had been on board the franchise since day 1.
The film is insured, so losing the money for the budget is not a problem, the trade publication reports.
“The production is more than halfway finished, but many of Walker’s key scenes remained to be shot,” The Wrap says. This makes rewrites impossible.
Instead, Universal might reboot the franchise, leaving Walker’s character out completely. This would mean at least a 2-year delay in the production because a script would first have to be written and that would still be just the beginning, because producers would also have to get every other star on board.
Undoubtedly, this move will anger loyal fans.
A decision on the fate of the franchise is expected to be made public in the following days.