Fast and the Furious 7 Original Ending Revealed

On November 30th, 2013, the world lost one of the most widely known and beloved actor, Paul Walker, in the middle of filming the 7th installment of the Fast and Furious franchise that launched him into stardom. Walker died in a devastating car crash at the age of 40, and when stories of Paul Walker’s passing first leaked, I could not believe it was true. I’ve seen Walker and his fellow cast members survive insane car chases, gun fights, fist fights, and crashes that looked impossible to walk away from, but our heroes always prevailed. The Furious team in my mind was an indestructible dream team, that’s why news of Paul Walker’s untimely and tragic death had been hard to believe. Movie production was put on hold and was even considered being left unfinished. The alternate ending features impressive CGI animations and a touching tribute to say goodbye to Brian O’Conner. Fast 7 may have some mixed reviews but without a starring actor, how can you continue the franchise, let alone film the ending for the movie?

The F&F series was almost laid to rest with Paul Walker, but instead producers, stars, and director James Wan, and writer Chris Morgan agreed to finish Furious 7 as a tribute to Walker. With a lot of revising, restructuring and reshooting, Wan changed the entire third act of the film. Furious 7’s ending to a more emotional and sentimental ending as Brian and Dominic ride off into a sunset and their roads split in two directions. I felt the ending was a great way for fans and cast members and anyone who loved Paul Walker to find closure, and it was thanks to the quick and creative thinking of Writer Chris Morgan and his team. In an interview with Collider, Morgan reveals some of his strategic thinking behind the alternate ending to Furious 7, and what the original ending was meant to be, “‘How do we build that story? What do we have with Paul?’ and really for me it was about, ‘Can we give the audience a cathartic experience to say goodbye? Can we do something that is worthy of Paul that he would appreciate?’ So it really kind of came down to that last sequence, so I just ended up writing it out and I took it into the studio and I was like, ‘This is what I think the end of the movie is’ and they loved it and the studio loved it. That was the moment when we all agreed, ‘We need to do this.” Morgan has been with the F&F franchise since Tokyo Drift and is one of the key creative power forces behind this series.

Most can agree Morgan’s conclusion to Furious 7 and give fans and family of Walker needed closure. If Walker hadn’t died, Brian O’Conner’s character would have taken on the pressure to find balance between his risky racing lifestyle and his growing family with his wife Mia and baby, with another baby on the way. The balance was just something that Brian would have dealt with throughout the rest of the sequels, and Furious 7 would have ended with another action packed cliffhanger leaving you excited for the next installment. The loss of Walker was devastating but also pushed the trajectory of the franchise in a new direction for The Fate of the Furious. The Storyline of previous installments stayed consistent with Dominic Toretto holding the family together as they worked together to take on new challenges, but with the loss of Walker, the franchise was irrevocably altered and left the family’s foundation shaking. It’s sad that it took a tragedy like Paul Walker dying for the franchise to take such shift in direction, but in a way, having Brian leave the crew posed a whole new challenge and was creative fuel for Morgan and Wan, and added a significant emotional side to their story. It forced the team to take responsibility for themselves and their family, to think about the frailty of life, and decide if the life they’ve chosen is the one they want rather than just having them head off guns blazing with little thought and no consequences.

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As of now, Fate of the Furious is set to kick off another trilogy, with ideas already shaping the plot for Fast & Furious 9 and 10. With Brian O’Conner’s retirement from the series, Dom and the team were presented with the quandary whether they should replace his role. Scott Eastwood was confirmed to join the cast for the Fate of the Furious as a currently unnamed character. Could Eastwood’s character fill Brian’s right hand role? Eastwood’s character will be joining the government operations in assigning new missions to Dominic and the Fast Family, and further showing the similarities between Eastwood’s character and Walker’s as Brian was working for the FBI at different points throughout the films. Eastwood also does look similar to Walker with their striking blue eyes, sandy hair and handsome features, and the pair were actually close friends, making Eastwood’s role a good character to take over for Walker in the series -not as Brian O’Conner but as someone close to him and someone who can lead.

As Eastwood’s character and purpose for The Fate of the Furious has yet to be announced, Eastwood’s role may have nothing to do with Brian, but there is a lot of preface that could build character depth if the two characters were somehow related in the series.

In an instagram post from April 11th, 2016, Eastwood says,

“It's hard to put into words how excited I am for the next Fast & Furious. To me, the series is so much more than just a franchise. It’s a legacy. These great actors who have been in it together for so long have become a family. I absolutely can’t wait to join it. Now I can’t say too much, but I get to play a new character who operates under Kurt Russell in the movie, which is incredible, because Kurt was a total childhood hero of mine growing up. Very much looking forward to learning a thing or two from such an original and cool guy. Paul was a close friend of mine. We surfed together, traveled together, and he was a huge role model and influencing figure in my life when I was younger. He still is. He was an older brother to me. For me to be able to add to the F&F story, Paul’s story, and the FAST family is like a dream come true. Gary Gray and Neal Moritz - I can’t wait to get started and dive in. Vin - thank you for the support and the insight. Paul - I am going to make you proud. #F8”