‘Fast & Furious 7’ production delayed

Shooting on the new Fast and Furious movie has been halted as producers and studio executives consult on how to deal with Paul Walker’s death.

Production was scheduled to restart in Atlanta today (2 December) after a Thanksgiving break, but it has now been reported that shooting will not be restarted until the cast and crew has had a chance to mourn Walker’s death, a source told The Wrap.

According to the website, Fast and Furious 7 director James Wan, producer Neal Moritz, and Universal Pictures executives had been on the phone continually since the news broke of Walker’s death aged 40 in a fiery car crash in California.

According to two individuals close to the project, production on Fast and Furious 7 was more than halfway completed at the time of Walker’s death. Production was slated to move to Abu Dhabi later this month, but The Wrap reports that it is now extremely unlikely that the film will stick to schedule.

Sources told the website that it is "too soon" to tell how the story or production will be altered, or if the scheduled release date will need to be changed. 

Walker played Brian O’Conner, undercover cop turned car thief and international criminal, in all but one of the Fast and Furious films.

Fast and Furious 7 was slated for release in July next year.

Read more: Fans, friends mourn Walker’s death.