What Happens Next? The Fate Of Late Actor Paul Walker's Pending Films BRICK MANSIONS And FAST 7
Lee B. Golden III
As fans, friends and family continue to mourn beloved actor and philanthropist Paul Walker and friend Roger Rodas following the devastating car crash that killed both victims, studios have been even busier behind the curtains to figure out what to do next for the late actor’s upcoming films. There are currently four films listed to release between now and next year, including director Camille Delamarre‘s upcoming action flick, Brick Mansions.
The film, which relaunches Pierre Morrel’s 2004 French freerunning action thriller, Banlieue 13, for an American audience, would see Walker reprising one of two lead roles previous played by action star Cyril Raffaelli as a cop who infiltrates a walled-in ghetto to put an end to a crimelord’s reign of terror with the help of a streetwise insider, played by freerunning trendsetter and action star David Belle reprising his old character. Reportedly, post-production for his scenes on the film is already finished. However, as the film continues the editing process, the trouble that Relativity Media and EuropaCorp, the two companies responsible for the film’s financing and production, is to figure out to pitch the film while dealing with the sensitive nature of Walker’s death, in accordance with some of the scene’s big stunts included in the current unaired trailer.
Anita Busch over at Deadline describes one of the scenes in the film, saying “…In one of the action scenes in Brick Mansions, Walker is driving at high speed and crashes through a big glass building in a van in an effort to dodge his pursuers.” In light of this, EuropaCorp’s chief marketing officer, Fabrice Denizot, has told the press the following: “All I know is that we are doing our best to maintain the schedule as it is, …What happened to Paul is devastating and we don’t want to push anything, and just want to take the time and do this right.”
Denizot also asserts that both EuropaCorp and Relativity Media are working hand in hand to honor Walker‘s memory the best way possible while they are unable to alter any of the scenes in which he is featured; Walker is reportedly in 80% of the film.
EuropaCorp CEO Christophe Lambert also went on record to express the his own thoughts in light of the priorities that now lie with helping push the film properly. “We are still in shock so it’s very difficult for me to respond.” he says. “We are devastated as a team. We need a bit of time. For sure it’s going to be one of the last big movies of his life and it’s Paul at his best.”
Brick Mansions is tentatively set for February 2014 premiere date. Walker‘s death, which is still being investigated, also complicates the fate of his next starring franchise appearance in Fast And Furious 7, which has since cancelled its filming schedule in Abu Dhabi until further notice as the cast and crew figure out what to do next while continuing to pay their respects to their beloved co-star and friend. The cancellation will possibly affect Universal Pictures’s previously announced July 11, 2014 release date for the film. The film’s predecessor, Fast And Furious 6, will release on DVD and Blu-Ray on December 10, 2013, with a portion of the sales going to Walker’s charity, Reach Out Worldwide for relief efforts attributed to victims of Supertyphoon Haiyan in The Philippines.
Walker‘s death is also a major setback for what would have been Aleksander Bach’s directorial debut for Agent 47, the reboot of Xavier Gens’ 2007 film, Hitman, based on the Square Enix game of the same name. The late 40-year old actor is expected to appear in writer/director Eric Heisserer upcoming December 13, 2013 release, Hours.
