Following the sudden death of movie star Paul Walker, Fast & Furious fans everywhere have been left torn and confused. Most of us want to know whether or not the seventh installment of the high-octane franchise will go on considering one of its main stars is no longer with us.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Fast & Furious director James Wan held a conference call with the cast and crew to discuss how the film would proceed, as well as how to honor Walker in a respectful manner.
We loved Paul Walker as the FBI agent turned good guy criminal Brian O’Conner. So while we wait to hear the fate of the film, take a look at Paul Walker as the undercover street racer we all grew to love.
The Fast and the Furious, which debuted in 2001, was the first film of the franchise. Walker played undercover officer Brian O’Conner, who was sent to destroy the underground street racing world, but got deeply involved in it. In an interview with Motor Trend magazine, Walker revealed how he was introduced to the role. He told the mag:
“…after I did The Skulls, I was like, ‘I want to be either an undercover cop or I want to race cars!’ ” he said. “Universal came to me with a newspaper article about street racing in L.A. and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? I grew up doing that right off Peoria in Sun Valley.’ They asked if I wanted to do it. There wasn’t even a screenplay, there was nothing, but I was like … ‘F– yeah, I want to do it!'”
2 Fast 2 Furious is the 2003 sequel and introduced a few new characters, like Monica Fuentes, played by Eva Mendes and Roman Pearce, played by Tyrese Gibson. This time around, Officer Brian has been caught by US customs due to his involvement with illegal street racing. In exchange for the clearing of his criminal record, Brian’s new assignment is to take down drug lord Carter Verone. Brian recruits Tyrese’s character, Pearce, to be his partner for the case. In a behind the scenes interview for the film, Walker gushed about his talented co-star Tyrese. He revealed:
“He’ll tell you ‘I’m more of a singer than an actor.’ And I’d tell him straight up, ‘You’re just an entertainer!’ He’s a double threat now…well triple threat since he modeled. He’s just real natural…he’s the real deal.”
The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift is the third installment of the F&F franchise. The 2006 prequel included a new director, Justin Lin, and none of the original cast members. Tokyo Drift made $158, 468, 292, grossing lower than its predecessor films. Universal still agreed to do a fourth installment if Walker and some of the original cast returned. Fast and Furious (IV) began shooting in 2008.
Fast and Furious (IV) hit theaters in 2009. Fans were ecstatic to see characters from the original film reprise their roles, including Paul Walker and Vin Diesel. Although it is the fourth installment of the F&F franchise, Fast and Furious 4 is set to have taken place before the events of the previous film, Tokyo Drift. In an interview with Vagrant TV, Walker talks about his exciting reunion with the original cast and how things had changed since the 2001 debut of the film. He also revealed his love for action and thrill, saying:
“I love doing all of the action stuff. The more of it I can do, the better. I wish I could be behind the wheel of every stunt…”
Fast Five is the 2011 fifth installment to the Fast & Furious franchise. This film is known as the transitional member, due to its deliberate departure from the street racing theme, favoring a heist action storyline with an emphasis on cars. Fast Five broke box office records, grossing $625 million and becoming the seventh highest grossing film of 2011. Walker starred once again as FBI agent turned criminal Brian O’Conner and did many of his own stunts for this film. In an interview with Jake Hamilton, Walker dished on his vision for his character and what the future should hold for him. When asked if he wanted Brian to die, Walker replied:
“If Brian goes out, he’s going out in a blaze of glory. I got this fantasy…God Willing…Vin and I will be 80 years old, we’ll be on Fast and the Furious 128, and we’ll be chasing each other in wheel chairs.”
Fast & Furious (VI) hit theaters in 2013 during Memorial Day Weekend, grossing over $780 million worldwide. It quickly became the third highest grossing film of 2013. Paul Walker reprises his role as Brian O’Conner, along with fellow original cast members Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez. In an interview with Jake Hamilton, Walker expressed his gratefulness.
“…trust the process, that’s what this is all about. We all got our journey, we all got our thing to go through. The answers will reveal themselves in time.”
Prior to the sudden death of Paul Walker, he and his co-stars were to return to Atlanta on Sunday to resume filming The Fast & Furious 7, which was set to hit theaters July 11th, 2014. Executives at Universal revealed that the majority of the film has been shot, but the cast is slotted to film more scenes in Abu Dhabi this January, without their beloved Paul.
Meanwhile, just a few days before the tragic accident that took Walker’s life, a clip from the Fast Six DVD ironically shows Walker telling Tyrese’s character that there will indeed be another funeral. In the funeral scene, Tyrese’s character pleads, “Promise me Brian, no more funerals.” Walker replies, “Just one more.”
Family, friends, and fans of the fallen star are still mourning the sudden death of the late actor. We will see the finished product of the seventh installment of The Fast and Furious franchise when it hits theaters in 2014.
SOURCE: Dailymail.co.uk | PHOTO CREDIT: Universal Pictures
