The Emotional Journey of Filming Furious 7 After Paul Walker's Passing

The tragic and unexpected death of Paul Walker made the making of Furious 7 an extremely difficult task for director James Wan. During the filming of the movie, Walker lost his life in a car accident, which left everyone involved in the production devastated. Wan recently opened up about the effect Walker's passing had on the movie's creation and his own personal emotions regarding the event. According to Wan, "It was a very challenging time, and emotionally, it was very difficult for all of us."

Wan faced a daunting task with Furious 7, not only because it was his first major budget film, but also because it was emotionally taxing. Despite this, he saw an opportunity to inject his own style into the franchise by creating more tense and suspenseful set pieces. One of the highlights of his pitch to Universal was the scene where the bus goes over the cliff, with Brian having to climb onto the side of the bus and run to jump off. When Walker passed away, the team considered shutting down the movie altogether, but ultimately decided to continue in order to pay tribute to his legacy. With only half of the necessary footage shot prior to his death, the team had to rely on a range of tricks, including using Walker's brothers to complete the remaining scenes, and pulling dialogue from previous films to create new sentences.

How The Fast & Furious Series Has Honored Paul Walker

The impact of Paul Walker's passing on the Fast & Furious franchise has been immense. Despite only completing half of his scenes for Furious 7, the film was able to pay tribute to him by rewriting and refilming his remaining scenes with the help of his brothers. With their collaboration, they were able to give his character, Brian O'Conner, a fitting conclusion. The movie ends with a poignant final race between Brian and Dom, after which his character is temporarily retired. The screen then fades to black, displaying the words "For Paul" in white letters.

However, this isn't the only way the Fast & Furious franchise has honored Paul Walker. In F9, there is a subtle nod to O'Conner. At the end of the movie, Dom points out an empty chair as his famous blue Nissan pulls in. Although it is never stated who is supposed to be joining them, the mere implication is enough to pay tribute to the late actor. It is clear that O'Conner's story is far from over.

Vin Diesel has promised that Fast 11 will give O'Conner a fitting farewell, despite Furious 7 already paying tribute to Walker. It's important to acknowledge O'Conner's character before the franchise comes to an end. Even though Paul Walker's passing was emotional for those involved, his memory remains a central part of the Fast & Furious series, as Wan has shown. Walker's legacy lives on through the films.