On April 4, 2013, Justin Lin, the franchise's director since The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), announced that he would not return to direct a seventh film, as the studio wanted to produce the film on an accelerated schedule for release in summer 2014. This would have required Lin to begin pre-production on the sequel while performing post-production on Fast & Furious 6, which he considered would affect the quality of the final product. Despite the usual two-to-three-year gap between the previous installments, Universal chose to pursue a sequel quicker due to having fewer reliable franchises than its competitor studios.[25]However, subsequent interviews with Lin have suggested that the sixth installment was always intended to be the final entry directed by him.[26] In April 2013, James Wan, predominantly known for horror films, was announced as the sequel's director, with Neal H. Moritz returning to produce and Chris Morgan returning to write the script, his fifth in the series. On April 16, 2013, Vin Diesel announced that the sequel would be released on July 11, 2014.[27] In May 2013, Diesel said that the sequel would feature Los Angeles, Tokyo and the Middle East as locations.[28][29]
§Casting
Diesel and Paul Walker were the first confirmed to return.[30] Dwayne Johnson initially said that if Universal pursued the accelerated development of a seventh film with a summer start date, he would be unable to participate due to scheduling conflicts with filming on Hercules.[31] However, as production for the film commenced in September, he confirmed his return for the film, as Hercules would complete production in time for him to film a significant part.[32] In August 2013, Kurt Russell was confirmed to be in talks for joining the film. Diesel confirmed his involvement in the film through a production photo on his Facebook page in September 2013.[33] In August 2013, mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey was confirmed to be in negotiations to join the cast,[34] and Thai martial arts actor Tony Jaa was also confirmed to have joined the cast, making his Hollywood debut.[13][35] In the same month, it was reported that Denzel Washington had turned down a role in the film, and that Universal was looking for another big star to take the part which would play a larger role in an eighth film.[36] It was also confirmed that Lucas Black has signed on to reprise his role as Sean Boswell for Furious 7 and two more installments.[7][37]
§Filming
Principal photography began in the beginning of September 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia, with a casting call issued.[38][39] Abu Dhabi has also been confirmed[40] as a filming location, as the production crew chose it over Dubai and will benefit from the Emirate's 30% rebate scheme.[41] Pikes Peak Highway in Colorado was closed in September to film some driving sequences.[42]
On November 30, 2013, while on a break for the Thanksgiving holiday, Walker, the actor who portrayed Brian O'Conner, died in a single-vehicle accident.[43][44] The next day, Universal announced that production would continue after a delay that would allow the film makers to rework the film.[45] On December 4, 2013, Universal Pictures put production on hold indefinitely.[46] Wan later confirmed that the film had not been cancelled.[47][48][49] On December 22, 2013, Diesel posted on his Facebook page that the film would be released on April 10, 2015.[50] On February 27, 2014, The Hollywood Reporter reported that filming would resume on April 1, and that the cast and crew had headed to Atlanta to prepare for about eight more weeks of shooting.[51] Principal photography ended on July 10, 2014.[3]
§Redevelopment of Walker's character
On January 6, 2014, it was reported that Walker's character would be retired instead of killed, and that new scenes would be developed to retire his character, allowing the franchise to continue.[52] On March 21, 2014, The Daily News reported that the studio had hired four actors with bodies very similar to Walker's physique and using his face and voice with the use of CGI.[53] On April 15, 2014, it was announced that Walker's brothers, Caleb and Cody, would be used as stand-ins.[54]
