For several weeks producers didn't know what to do with his character Brian O'Connor who is an integral part of the money-making franchise.
On Friday The Hollywood Reporter claimed a consensus has been reached: Paul's iconic undercover cop will 'retire' and not be killed off, when the movie premieres on April 10, 2015.
A solution: Paul Walker, seen here in The Fast
& Furious 5 with co-star Vin Diesel, died halfway through filming of
the seventh installment of the franchise; now producers have decided
what to do with his character, per a Friday report from The Hollywood
Reporter
'The plan is to "retire" the character in a way that the studio hopes will satisfy fans of the franchise and make use of the existing footage of Walker,' the Reporter wrote.
'In the weeks after the tragedy, director James Wan, writer Chris Morgan, and Jeffrey Kirschenbaum, Universal's lead executive on the Fast films, pored over the footage Wan had shot.
'Then trio then devised a plan to tweak the existing script so that Walker would remain a part of the story but could be written out, allowing the franchise to continue without him.'
Final scene: Vin Diesel posts a picture of the last scene he filmed with Paul Walker in Fast & Furious 7
The Reporter's Matthew Belloni added: 'The changes will require some additional scenes to be written and shot, but the eight-month delay of release provides plenty of time.'
The movie's studio Universal would not comment on The Reporter's story.
MailOnline exclusively reported on December 13 Paul's younger brother Cody, 25, a stunt man, has been asked to step in to shoot some scenes for the film.
Final scenes: Jordana Brewster starred alongside Paul, who died tragically on November 30 in Valencia, California
A source close to production said: 'Producers had a string of meetings right after Paul's death.
'They soon realized they needed someone who looked like Paul to finish the movie and that's when they approached his nearly identical brother, Cody. They can shoot Cody from behind and at distance and if it's a shot they need Paul's face in close up they can CGI it later on.
Brotherly love: Paul's youngest
brother Cody, 25, may step in and shoot additional scenes for The Fast & Furious 7
The release date of the film was announced by Paul's co-star Vin Diesel just on Facebook before Christmas.
'The last scene we filmed together. There was a unique sense of completion, of pride we shared … in the film we were now completing… the magic captured … and, in just how far we've come…Fast and Furious 7 will be released…April 10th 2015!
The end: Paul's character will retire in the seventh installment of the film; here he is in the sixth F&F with Jordana
'P.s. He'd want you to know first,' he added.
The star also posted the last scene he and Paul filmed together for Fast & Furious 7.
Fast & Furious was originally scheduled for release in July of 2014, but production was stopped after Paul's death.
The 40-year-old actor was killed November 30 in a car crash after his friend, Roger Rodas, lost control of a Porsche GT which smashed into a pole and a tree in Valencia, California.
According to the Associated Press, investigators are now focusing on the car's speed at the time of the crash.
‘We're
looking at speed and speed alone,’ a law enforcement official with
knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press.
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