'Fast and Furious 7' Script to be Rewritten; No Place for Justin Bieber, Cody Walker to Replace Brother Paul?
"Fast and the Furious" fans need not worry as Justin Bieber will have no role in the next "Fast and the Furious" movie. It's fair to say that while teenage fans are happy and supportive for Justin Bieber playing a role in the Fast and the Furious 7 movie, the enthusiasm wasn't at all unanimous. The rumour started when Ludacris said Bieber loved the films so much that he was trying to get a role in the next one.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chris Morgan is now reportedly tasked with rewriting the plot for F&F to salvage the movie. Universal Pictures has already spent $150 million into and give Paul Walker an honorable sendoff. About half of Paul's scenes were already shot at the time of his death and some of these shots could still be used. It's very sensitive for the fans of the franchise so Universal refuted the Bieber rumour.
However, there's still no word on how Paul's character, Brian O'Connor, will exit the film but once the rewritten story is signed off, filming would resume as early as January 2014. When that happens, Bieber will not be anywhere near the action. Universal released a statement saying things will be on hold to support Walker's family and friends.
The next day after Paul Walker's remains were interred at the Hollywood Forest Lawn Memorial Park, it was rumoured that his 25-year-old brother, Cody Walker, was approached by the producers of "Fast and the Furious 7" and asked to join the cast. Cody uncannily resembles his late brother but there's no explanation whether Cody would be doing long shots or just as a "double" needed to finish what Paul has partially finished before the Thanksgiving break from the film.
Since Cody Walker resembles his brother so much in body size and shape, using CG could just alter Cody's face to make him look even more like Paul, allowing the movie to finish without too many changes. It could also be just a simple switch of characters in scenes and likely that Cody will be used as Brian's brother.
If Brian dies in the movie, it makes sense for his brother to pick up his brother's remains. Cody is even a stuntman professionally and he could even switch from stuntman to actor, which is not unusual in Hollywood. No one will really know until the movie goes out in July 2014 but it is interesting how Cody will be used in the movie.