There are new developments on the “Fast & Furious 7″ front this week, and these latest developments have fans of the franchise outraged. Back in December, it was revealed that the film would be delayed until April 2015. The writers and those involved with the film needed to figure out how to handle Paul Walker’s death on Nov. 30 in the best way for the franchise and for him. They wanted to honor his memory and the contribution he made to the franchise. The fate of his character has now been decided. What will happen to Brian O’Connor?
Early reports following Paul Walker’s teased that the character might be killed off during the film. That would need some re-working of the script, but it would handle his death and allow the franchise continue. Universal was already thinking about “Fast 10″ for the franchise. This film was set to create a new world for the franchise that would be featured in the next three films. This will need to be changed now.
However, Brian O’Connor will not die in the film. He will go into retirement instead, according to Entertainment Weekly. The script for the film will be changed to reflect this, and new scenes will be filmed to handle his departure from the franchise. The fact that Brian O’Connor will live is causing a mixed in reaction in the media and with fans. Some are happy that the character will remain alive. Some are also upset over the decision though. One writer at Cinema Blend went into her reasons why the franchise should kill off the character. She said the following:
“That resolution makes zero sense because Brian would never leave the family he has forged through these movies. He and Dom are deeply bonded, not just by their love of muscle cars, but by fraternal friendship and actual family ties! He married Dom’s sister. How are we supposed to believe that whatever future shenanigans the crew gets up to Brian wouldn’t be there with a need for speed and a Baby Bjorn strapped on if need be?”
This argument is the same argument made by fans of the franchise that disagree with the decision made by those involved over the situation. The decision to the keep the character alive will have an impact on what happens next on the franchise. Brian O’Connor is married to Mia Torretto, who is Dominic’s sister. Will Brian vanishing into retirement mean she will depart the franchise as well? Mia and Brian are a team. Even when Brian left her behind at home, she was brought back into the action of “Fast & Furious 6″ before the film ended.
Paul Walker’s death has been difficult to take for those that knew him and fans of this franchise. New details via Forbes have revealed that he died on impact after a 100+ mph crash. The speed was not released at the time of the time of the accident. These new details were revealed after the release of Walker’s autopsy. Walker was so severely injured during the crash that he was unable to be a donor.
Is Universal making the right decision by keeping Brian O’Connor alive? Should they kill him off instead? There are fans of both ideas. It is hard to say which would honor the character more. If anything keeping him alive, will make it more difficult in the long run. Dom and the remaining team members will likely need to bring up Brian in conversation in future films. This will not be easy. However, as they say in show business – the show must go on.
What do you think? Are you glad they are keeping Paul Walker’s character alive in the film?
