The cast of Fast & Furious 7 will be taking some time off to grieve. Universal Pictures announced in a new statement on Wednesday, Dec. 4 that they will be shutting down production on the franchise following the tragic death of actor Paul Walker.
"Right now, all of us at Universal are dedicated to providing support to Paul's immediate family and our extended Fast & Furious family of cast, crew and filmmakers. At this time we feel it is our responsibility to shut down production on Fast & Furious 7 for a period of time so we can assess all options available to move forward with the franchise," the studio said in a statement to Us Weekly. "We are committed to keeping Fast & Furious fans informed, and we will provide further information to them when we have it. Until then, we know they join us in mourning the passing of our dear friend Paul Walker."
Walker died in a car crash on Saturday, Nov. 30 at the age of 40. At the time of his death, the actor was on a break from filming the seventh installment of the popular Fast and the Furious franchise. According to the Associated Press, shooting had been scheduled to start again on Monday, Dec. 2 after the Thanksgiving holiday.
On Monday, Walker's costar Vin Diesel visited the site of Walker's fiery crash in Santa Clarita, Calif. The 46-year-old actor gave a touching speech thanking Walker's fans for holding a vigil in his memory.
"If he could see for himself that all of you have shown up to show my brother love . . . at this hard time his family gets to see all of you show the love that you've shown Paul. It's going to stay with me forever," Diesel said. "I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for coming down here and showing that angel up in heaven how much you appreciate him."
