Paul Walker dead at 40: 'Fast and Furious' future in limbo after death of franchise star

The actor’s tragic passing happened in the midst of filming the seventh installment of the popular action franchise.

The lucrative "Fast and Furious" action movie franchise was in the midst of filming its seventh installment when main actor Paul Walker tragically died in a car accident on Nov. 30.





As news of the action star's death sent shockwaves through Hollywood, the future of the mega-hit franchise currently hangs in the balance as filmmakers must consider how to proceed without one of their biggest stars.

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Walker’s death has likely left the franchise filmmakers with a lot to consider — including how to finish production on the seventh film.

Walker, 40, was killed in a single car crash in Southern California on Saturday, after the Porsche he was riding in flew off the road and hit a tree, killing him and a companion in a fiery explosion, a rep for the actor confirmed to the Daily News.

It is unclear what will happen after the seventh installment of the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise hits theaters in July of 2014.

He was a main character in six of the seven "Fast" films to date — all except the third installment, "Tokyo Drift."

The franchise also stars Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Michelle Rodriguez and Dwayne Johnson. The films have grossed more than $2 billion worldwide, according to Boxofficemojo.com.

Recently Universal Pictures announced that the seventh film is slated for a July 11, 2014 release date.

Production on "Fast & Furious 7" is still ongoing, a source close to the film told BuzzFeed, but Universal Films has not yet made any announcements about how the film has been affected. It is unclear how many scenes Walker was able to complete before his death.

While the "Fast & Furious" films have routinely been some of the biggest box office draws each summer, Walker's fans could be deterred by the irony of his death. His on-screen character, Brian O'Conner, shared many similarities with the actor's real life as a fast car aficionado.

His sudden passing is reminiscent of the death of "The Dark Knight" star Heath Ledger, whose final performance as the Joker posthumously won Ledger an Oscar and pushed him to prominence as one of Hollywood's most talented actors gone too soon.

Ledger was in the middle of shooting "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" when he died at age 29, but the film was able to be rewritten and continue with Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell filling in.

Despite the effort, the reality of Ledger's death hung over the film, and “Fast and Furious 7” could face the same fate.