Paul Walker may still appear in Fast & Furious 7

Following the tragic death of actor Paul Walker on Saturday, Universal executives have held talks to discuss the future of the Fast And Furious 7, it has been reported. Paul and his cast members had been scheduled to return to filming the seventh instalment of the street-racing franchise on Sunday in Atlanta, and were said to be midway through completing the film. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that director James Wan held a conference call on Sunday morning to discuss the film, if “rewrites would be necessary” and how to approach them in a “manner that would be respectful to Walker’s death”. Paul’s co-stars including Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and Tyrese Gibson have been left devastated by the news of his death, with Tyrese breaking down in tears at the scene of the horror crash on Sunday. Tyrese appeared to suggest that the cast and crew would want to ensure Paul’s scenes in the next instalment of the film are shown, in his touching message on Twitter. He wrote: “Paul is the heartbeat of this franchise and we’re gonna see to it that his energy and presence lives on forever #myhearthurtssobad (sic).” The late actor had returned to Southern California for Thanksgiving holiday when the limited-edition Porsche he was a passenger in crashed on Saturday afternoon in Valencia alongside driver Roger Rodas. The 40-year-old actor was on a short break from reprising his role as Brian O’Conner in the film, which was scheduled to open on July 11 2014. On November 29, Paul Walker’s Twitter account posted a new picture from the film, with the caption: “The boys are back. Will you be ready?” It has been suggested by The Hollywood Reporter that the marketing of the film which glamorises high speed car chases could pose difficulties in light of the tragic car accident in which Paul died. But while the release date is expected to be delayed, it has currently not been changed by producers. Universal released a statement on Saturday night saying they were “heartbroken” at the news. They said in a statement: “Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the Fast and Furious films, and to countless fans. We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to Paul’s family.” Insiders have revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that a “large part of the film had been shot”, but the cast and crew were expected to travel to Abu Dhabi to film additional scenes in January. Meanwhile, a haunting clip of Paul promising there would be “just one more” funeral in the next Fast & Furious film was leaked online just three days before he died, it has emerged. In the teaser scene, from Fast & Furious 7 but released as an extra on the DVD and Blu-ray versions of Fast & Furious 6, Paul’s character, Brian O’Conner, makes the at the funeral. The clip was leaked on film website Movies.com on November 27.