Furious 7 Was Nearly Canceled After Paul Walker's Death Says Producer

04/12/2017 06:15 pm EDT

When you mention Fast and the Furious, two names are always mentioned above all others, and rightfully so. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker both played integral parts in the series first installment, and have been heavily involved ever since. That's why it hit fans and the cast so hard when Walker passed away before production on Furious 7 had completed, and that nearly caused the franchise to stop completely.

Fast and Furious producer Neal Moritz recently touched on that subject during an interview with the Bill Simmons Podcast (via ScreenRant), including just how devasting the loss of Paul Walker was to everyone involved. "Paul was the greatest guy I've ever met. He was a real guy's guy. Girls loved him. Guys loved him. He was so full of life, a surfer, outdoorsman, more than an actor, even though he was really good at what he did. He was just the greatest guy in the world. Honestly, when that happened, when his passing happened, when that accident happened, we were like, 'We're not gonna finish the movie'. We'd done over half the movie. We were like 'We can't finish the movie. We just can't do it.' And Universal said take some time. Think about it. See what you guys want to do. We didn't know what to do. We didn't know what we could do or what we should do."

That paved the way for one of the most touching scenes in the film, where Dom and Bryan drive off in separate directions. "It wasn't until Chris Morgan came up with the idea at the end of the road splitting that we knew we had a way, a path to the end of this movie. Then we had to work our way backwards and figure out with the footage we already had existing and with the special effects things we were able to do, that we could make that story work. That scene, in combination with that song, it was perfect."

While Walker won't be in Fate of the Furious, Jordana Brewster's Mia will be, and it remains to be seen how they depict the family going forward. You can view the official synopsis for Fate below, which currently has a 3.65 out of 5 on ComicBook.com's anticipation rankings.

From the shores of Cuba and the streets of New York City to the icy plains off the arctic Barents Sea, our elite force will crisscross the globe to stop an anarchist from unleashing chaos on the world's stage…and to bring home the man who made them a family.

For The Fate of the Furious, Vin Diesel is joined by a returning all-star cast that includes Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Elsa Pataky and Kurt Russell. In addition to Theron, the series welcomes newcomers Scott Eastwood and Oscar winner Helen Mirren. The film is directed by F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton) and produced by returning producers Neal H. Moritz, Michael Fottrell, and Diesel.

The Fate of the Furious opens in theaters April 14, 2017.

MORE FATE OF THE FURIOUS: The Women Of The Fast And Furious / Fate Promises To Solve One Franchise Mystery / Tokyo Drift Originally Had Vin Diesel As The Lead

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