It was after the tragic death of actor Paul Walker during Thanksgiving break on November 30, 2013 that with the shock and sadness came obvious questions pertaining to the late actor’s last work on Fast And Furious 7 prior to its now-cancelled release date three months from now. Script rewrites became an issue with little known as to whether or not some characters would be written out or changed altogether. “They’re having to rewrite, they’re having to do whatever they’re having to do to deal with the situation,” said actor Kurt Russell quoted in BBC back in January. “It’s catastrophic. It’s the worst thing that could happen to a movie, …but it’s not as bad as what happened to Paul.”.
Such was the issue with international action hero Tony Jaa who had already filmed some scenes with Walker, and fans grew curious to know if the actor would still make his Hollywood debut. And in a new interview with The Action Elite this week, international action star shared a few of his experiences on set with the actor and the cast, as well as some clarifications about his role in the film among other things. “..I had quite a few scenes with Paul Walker. He was a genuinely nice person and his passing was a real shock to me.” Jaa says. “I will be back in June to finish my scenes. As for the story, I will leave that to the people at Universal to tell you about it, but it is going to be quite a film.”.
The Thai star also delved a bit more on the viral video featuring him and the series’ other lead actor and producer Vin Diesel, where they can be seen training together in Muay Thai and other activities last October. “…We worked out together for fun a number of times.” says the actor. “Vin learned some moves, and I can tell you he is a real action hero.”.
Amidst the early stages of the healing process, Diesel announced the film’s new release date in late December last year, followed by confirmed reports that the seventh installment would “retire” Walker‘s character, Brian O’Connor, in a way that would honor the actor’s memory while allowing the franchise to continue in what is expected to be the third trilogy of the Fast And Furious saga. In a heartfelt Facebook post a few weeks ago, the actor, one of Walker‘s longest, best and closest friends since first starring in the first film of the saga, The Fast And The Furious, reflected on his transitive, and “interesting” journey as lead character Dom Torretto, adding “…only this time there is added purpose, a collective goal to make this the best one in the series.”.
The film will return to its set in Atlanta, Georgia to shoot principal action sequences containing “simulated combat, and special effects (explosions and simulated munitions fire)” as per a memo from the crew, along with more scenes to commence filming in Abu Dhabi later on.
Walker‘s final completed film, Brick Mansions, with French action star David Belle will release on April 25, 2014. Meanwhile, as Fast And Furious 7 moves forward on filming with director James Wan, the late actor’s scenes are expected to stay in the film, premiering the actor’s final cinematic reunion with Diesel, Russell and Jaa, in addition to Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Lucas Black and Nathalie Emmanuel for an April 10, 2015 release courtesy of Universal Pictures.
In other news, Jaa is just off of wrapping up principal photography for his new action thriller, Skin Trade with Dolph Lundgren, Michael Jai White and Ron Perlman, which is also expected to release in 2015 as well.
Stay tuned for more info!