The producers of the seventh Fast and Furious movie have decided to retire Paul Walkers character, Brian OConner, rather than kill him off. Sources close to the film told The Hollywood Reporter that the studio has found a way to use the footage it shot of Walker, before the actors death in a car accident last year, in a way that will satisfy the series fans.
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In the weeks following Walkers death, a team consisting of director James Wan, writer Chris Morgan and the studios lead exec on the series, Jeffrey Kirschenbaum, watched the scenes it had shot that featured Walker. They then modified the existing script so the OConner character, which has been a part of all but one the series installments, could be part of the story but also bow out gracefully so the franchise could continue. The changes will require Wan to film extra scenes that are yet to be written.
Last month, the studio extended the movies release date to April 2015, as opposed to the July 2014 release date it had previously announced. The later release date will give Wan more time to film the new scenes.
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In related news, the Los Angeles County Coroners Office issued a statement today that said Walkers Porsche Carrera GT had to have been traveling at over 100 miles per hour when its driver lost control of the vehicle. An updated statement from the L.A. Sheriffs Department said that it still does not know why the cars driver, Roger Rodas, lost control.
According to another Hollywood Reporter article, Walkers car partially spun, hit a curb a tree and a light post, which turned the car 180 degrees and caused the cars passenger side to hit another tree and combust into flames. The sheriffs statement added, It appeared that the vehicle was almost split in half.The coroners report noted that it could find no traces of drugs or alcohol in either Rodass or Walkers systems. The drivers official cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries while Walkers was traumatic and thermal injuries.
Despite these findings, the report offered a caveat: The decedent cannot be positively identified visually. The decedent is probably Paul William Walker IV.