In the wake of the tragic loss of leading man Paul Walker last year, Universal’s Fast & Furious 7 recently announced a delayed release on April 10, 2015. Because Walker’s scenes were partially shot, the studio is seeking to honor his final performance and will offer one last big screen appearance for his franchise alter ego, Brian O’Conner. Today, The Hollywood Reporter brings word that the current plan is to “retire” O’Conner without killing him off.
Walker’s O’Conner made his first appearance in Rob Cohen’s original The Fast and the Furious in 2001. He subsequently appeared in every sequel, save 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, tying with Vin Diesel for the most franchise appearances.
Directed by James Wan, Fast & Furious 7 also stars Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Tony Jaa, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Djimon Hounsou, Lucas Black and John Brotherton.
