Vin Diesel and Paul Walker's Brothers on the 'Fast & Furious 7' Set

It had been rumored for some time, but last week came confirmation that Paul Walker's brothers, Cody and Caleb, would be joining Fast & Furious 7 to give the Brian O'Connor character a fitting farewell. Mostly it'll be technical stuff, filling in for Paul on the unfinished scenes, and as this newly-released image by Vin Diesel shows, the resemblance between the brothers is stunning. Diesel also released this touching note on his Facebook page about the closeness he feels with the Walker family...

When I heard the news, I left the production, grabbed a plane and took my family and Michelle back to LA... drove directly to his parent's house...

His Father said, Paul loved you Vin... I awkwardly and nervously said, aw come on... then he said... you don't have to get along every second to love each other... so true.

P.s. After spending time with his biological brothers, I must say to the parents, you raised some great kids.

James Wan has resumed filming on Fast & Furious 7 in hopes of hitting the April 10th 2015 release date, but it's still unclear how they plan to write O'Connor out of the storyline. To me, this image makes it look as if the Walker brothers may do more than just play Paul's body doubles. 

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Paul Walker's Brothers to Help Complete 'Fast & Furious 7'

In the wake of Paul Walker's sudden death, Universal struggled with how to complete production on Fast & Furious 7. Shutting down filming for a time, the idea of starting over was briefly considered, along with writing his character out of the movie entirely. But those things didn't quite jibe with a franchise that has a tighter cast than most. One of the early rumors was that Paul's brothers would fill in, mostly for behind-the-back shots and stuntwork, and some wrote those rumors off as unlikely. But it turns out they were true as Cody and Caleb Walker have officially joined the film. Here's the released statement:

"The FAST & FURIOUS saga is about family. The characters are connected by the bond of family, and it is how all of us who have worked together for more than thirteen years feel about each other. It certainly defines how we feel about our fans.
Our family experienced an unthinkable shock in November. We had to take time to grieve Paul, the brother we love and lost, and to figure out if we should move on with our film.

We came together and all felt the only choice was to continue. We believe our fans want that, and we believe Paul would want that too. Paul had already shot his dramatic scenes and most of his action for FAST & FURIOUS 7, and it's among the strongest work of his career.

We have resumed shooting and now welcome Paul's brothers, Caleb and Cody, into our FAST family. Caleb and Cody are helping us complete some remaining action for their brother and fill in small gaps left in production. Having them on set has made us all feel that Paul is with us too.

We are just under a year away from the release of FAST & FURIOUS 7, and this film is the most important we've ever done together. It will allow the character of Brian O'Conner to live on and let us celebrate Paul in his most defining role.

We wanted to take a moment to speak to our fans directly and thank you for the love and support you always show us as we resume our work."

The release date has been pushed back to April 10th 2015, giving new director James Wan time to figure out how to stamp Paul's head on Cody's body or something.

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Paul Walker to Remain 'Fast & Furious 7' Star; Cody Walker May Help Fill In

 UPDATE: That Cody Walker Facebook page is apparently a fake. Oops! Those sections of the post have been deleted.

Now that we know for certain that Fast & Furious 7 will race into theaters April 10th 2015, adding yet another blockbuster to a field that doesn't seem to have room for it, the only question left was how Universal and James Wan planned to handle Paul Walker's character. Walker had shot about half of his scenes before his untimely death, and there was speculation the whole film could be scrapped if writer Chris Morgan couldn't find a way to salvage. Now comes a brief but significant update that suggests Morgan may have found a way.

According to Deadline, Universal is confirming Walker's scenes will remain in the film, billing him as a star alongside Vin Diesel. Or as the studio puts it...“Continuing the global exploits in the franchise built on speed, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead the returning cast of Fast & Furious 7…” One thing working in its favor is that the franchise has largely become more of an ensemble, and that the Brian O'Connor character was in a place where a diminished role would make some sense.

There had been some rumors over the last couple of weeks that Paul's brother Cody could be stepping in to fill the void, at least for shots taken at a distance. So at least in that respect things seem to be up in the air a little bit. Filming begins on Fast & Furious 7 next year with new additions Jason Statham, Tony Jaa, Rhonda Rousey, Kurt Russell, and Djimon Hounsou.

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