Funnily enough, though Universal chose to market it under the name Fast & Furious 6, the most recent installment of Vin Diesel and the late Paul Walker’s high-octane car racing franchise was actually called Furious 6 (an easy follow-up to Fast Five) in its opening credits. Now, the studio has evidently realized the benefits of such a shortened name and is testing it out on next year’s seventh series entry – Fast & Furious 7 has been officially titled Furious 7.
Of course, the title is appropriate, given the darker and more intense storyline in place for the upcoming blockbuster. After taking down Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and his team of adrenaline-junkie mercenaries in Fast & Furious 6, Dom (Diesel) and his crew have finally settled down and begun to live a normal life in the United States. That peaceful existence is brutally upended, however, when the crew learns that Han (Sung Kang) has been killed by Owen’s vengeful brother Ian (Jason Statham). As Ian seeks further vengeance, the crew sets out to find him, before he finds them.
In addition to Diesel, Walker and Statham, the film stars Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Ronda Rousey, Tony Jaa, Nathalie Emmanuel, Lucas Black, John Brotherton, Djimon Hounsou, and Kurt Russell.
Furious 7 is a particularly important entry for this franchise, given that lead character Brian O’Conner (Walker) will be written out of the series in order to accomodate the actor’s tragic death (eerily, due to a high-speed crash). The film was mid-production at the time of the accident and had to be extensively reshot, with Walker’s brothers Caleb and Cody filling in for him during certain scenes.
Understandably, Furious 7 was a long and arduous shoot for all involved, including director James Wan (Insidious), who recently called the project the “hardest movie I’ve had to do in my career.” Hopefully, the hard work of the cast and crew will allow the flick to soar when it finally does arrive on April 3rd next year. Before that, though, fans can look forward to November 1st, which is when Universal will host the The Road to Furious 7: Trailer Launch Event at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. At noon (Pacific time), there will be a live-stream of the trailer simultaneously broadcast on Facebook and E!.
Be sure to check back next week as we’ll have the trailer posted as soon as it becomes available.
