Universal has made what seems like the inevitable decision to shut down production on Fast & Furious 7 for an indefinite period of time, as it decides what to do with the film in the wake of Paul Walker’s death. Reports of the sequel being scrapped entirely were being circulated earlier this morning by The Wrap, which said that the film—frozen in limbo, with only around 50 percent of shooting completed—was weighing its various choices on how to continue. Obviously, none of these were particularly pretty, to the point where just abandoning what it had and starting over from scratch actually seemed more viable than alternatives—including trying to jerry-rig a story that incorporated Walker’s already-completed scenes, but also set up his character’s exit from the series, or even digitally superimposing Walker’s head on another actor’s body (a possibility The Wrap said producers had wisely “veered away from”).
Any final decision on that is still likely weeks away, as the studio released a statement saying right now it was concentrating primarily on “providing support to Paul’s immediate family” and joining them in mourning, while also trying to “assess all options available.” Not included in those options, according to Deadline and anyone familiar with how movies work, is completely shutting down the Fast & Furious franchise, which remains far too lucrative for the studio to even consider it.