The seventh installment of the Fast & Furious franchise has been surrounded by an air of uncertainty for the past few weeks following the unfortunate passing of star Paul Walker.  Speculation has run rampant with regards to how Universal would move forward with Fast & Furious 7 after Walker’s death, given that the film was in the middle of production when the actor passed.  The studio officially pushed the James Wan-directed pic’s release date from this coming July to April 2015, and now it appears that all parties involved have settled on how to move forward with the pic: Walker’s character will be “retired” in Fast & Furious 7.  Hit the jump for more.

Paul Walker had already filmed a number of scenes for Fast & Furious 7 when he passed, so many have wondered whether Universal would try to incorporate some of that footage into the film or if Walker would be wholly absent from the seventh installment of the car-centered series.  Screenwriter Chris Morgan was brought in to revise the script last month, and now THR reports that Walker’s character Brian O’Conner will not be killed off in Fast & Furious 7, but will instead be retired “in a way that the studio hopes will satisfy fans of the franchise and make use of the exciting footage of Walker.”

Additional scenes will be written and shot in order to give Walker’s character the proper conclusion, as his character will remain a part of the story of Fast & Furious 7.  This seems like a solid decision as opposed to killing off Walker’s character, which would have felt crass and inappropriate.  The franchise will then continue without Brian O’Conner, but hopefully Wan and Morgan have come up with a fitting sendoff not only for the character, but for Walker as well.  Fast & Furious 7 will open in theaters April 10, 2015.