Since Paul Walker's death in November 2013, people have been wondering what impact it would have on the unfinished Fast & Furious 7 and how they would finish filming Walker's scenes. Well now we have the answer: body doubles and CGI. According to a source close to the production of the movie, "They have hired four actors with bodies very similar to Paul’s physique and they will be used for movement and as a base. Paul’s face and voice will be used on top using CGI.”
Supposing that this source is accurate, it will be a relief to fans to finally know the fate of Walker's scenes after many months of debate from the studio about whether or not they could even continue the film with Walker's character. Eventually it was decided that his previously recorded scenes could be salvaged and Walker's character Brian O'Connor will receive a quiet send off in the movie by way of retirement, rather than recreating a gory and all-too-true-to-life death scene.
This will not be the first time a deceased actor has been recreated using body doubles and digital effects. When Oliver Reed died during the filming of Gladiator his scenes were also finished that way. Undoubtedly today's advanced technology will allow Walker's CGI scenes to be hardly noticeable.
Fast & Furious 7 will resume filming in April, and the movie's release date has been pushed nearly a year to April 10, 2015 which gave the cast time to grieve before resuming filming and will give the studio plenty of time to rework Walker's already filmed shots, finish the remainder of the movie, and do the necessary CGI to complete Walker's scenes and give both Walker and Brian O'Connor the retirement they deserve.
Image: Universal Pictures
