In the wake of Paul Walker's sudden and tragic death on November 30, Universal decided to halt production on Fast & Furious 7. The filmmakers involved with the sequel have been trying to figure out what to do with Walker's cop character Brian O'Conner.

Universal had considered scrapping the footage that had already been filmed and take a loss of $150 million in the process in order to start over. Writer Chris Morgan may have come up with a compromise though of retiring Walker's character in the film.

Walker had shot "almost half" of his role in the sequel prior to his death and there were too many scenes for the character to be simply removed from the movie. Additionally, the opening action sequence in Abu Dhabi had not yet been filmed.

Meanwhile Walker's parents have told Paul's costars that they don't want him cut out of the movie.

The goal right now is to restart production in late January. Even if filmmakers are able to make that goal, the long hiatus makes it impossible for Fast & Furious 7 to make its July 11, 2014 release date. Universal has not yet announced a new date.

What would you do with Walker's character? Would you figure out a way to leave him in the franchise or start over?

 

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