"Fast & Furious 7" had been scheduled to resume production in Atlanta this week, but things have been on hold since actor Paul Walker's death in a fiery Saturday car crash.
Now industry reports suggest the high-speed project might be due for a do-over.
“The producers of ‘Fast & Furious 7’ are considering scrapping the entire film and starting over in the wake of actor Paul Walker’s death mid-production,” reported Hollywood news site The Wrap, quoting inside sources. No one from the studio would comment.
Soon after the fatal wreck north of Los Angeles, Universal Pictures issued a statement of stunned condolences, and director James Wan posted on his Twitter feed, "I am so beyond heartbroken right now. I can't process anything."
His only other post since Walker’s death was a message thanking fans who attended a vigil in Walker’s memory.
“Your love, heartfelt sympathy and prayers are with his family,” Wan wrote.
The "Fast and Furious" cast members are a tightknit bunch and have been grieving publicly since the death of their friend. Star Vin Diesel made an appearance this week at a vigil fans were holding in Walker's memory at the crash site.
“Thank you for coming down here, and showing that angel up in heaven how much you appreciated him,” he said, speaking over a police car’s PA system.
Shortly after the movie began production, Diesel posted a photo of himself and Walker on the set. His Facebook page now pays tribute to Walker: “I will always love you Brian, as the brother you were… on and off screen.”
The movie had been filming in Atlanta since mid-September, at locations including the OFS facility north of Atlanta, the Fort Gillem site south of Atlanta and a rock quarry in Stockbridge. An early scene took place at Oakland Cemetery, and just before wrapping for a Thanksgiving break, the project filmed for a number of days in downtown Atlanta.
Eerily enough, some of the last scenes Walker filmed included one in which his character, Brian O'Conner, responds to a car crash.
The F&F franchise has been hugely successful, with a worldwide box-office haul exceeding $2 billion, according to numbers compiled by Box Office Mojo. While that past success suggests future films would have been profitable as well, the studio now faces the delicate task of pushing forward with a movie series that often features the kind of high-speed crash that killed one of its actors.
