Universal puts ‘Fast and Furious 7’ on hold.
Production for ‘Fast and Furious 7’ has been reportedly put on hold indefinitely in the wake of star Paul Walker’s death this past weekend. The Hollywood Reporter first broke the news that Universal Studios has decided to stop production altogether while it decided how best to proceed, a definite change of course from the previous statement from the studio.
The newest installment, directed by James wan, had been scheduled for a release in July 2014. But, after the filmmaking team and Universal executives met over the weekend to discuss how to proveed Universal decides to hold up on production indefinitely. It was reported that Paul Walker was scheduled to film several key scenes this week including a dynamic opening sequence set in Abu Dhabi.
“Right now, all of us at Universal are dedicated to providing support to Paul’s immediate family and our extended Fast & Furious family of cast, crew, and filmmakers,” Universal told The Wrap in a statement. “At this time we feel it is our responsibility to shut down production on Fast & Furious 7 for a period of time so we can assess all options available to move forward with the franchise. We are committed to keeping Fast & Furious fans informed, and we will provide further information to them when we have it. Until then, we know they join us in mourning the passing of our dear friend Paul Walker.”
