'Fast & Furious 7' delayed due to Paul Walker's death

The popular race car film Fast and Furious 7 is being put on pause in production following the tragic death of actor Paul Walker, but sources say the movie will not be ignored entirely. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Walker along with his fellow cast and crew of Fast 7, had been scheduled to return to Atlanta on Sunday to resume shooting the big-budget film, which features extensive car racing. Those plans are on hold until Monday or Tuesday at the earliest.

A conference call was held early Sunday morning by Director James Wan and Universal to go over the fate of the film. Decisions are being made on whether to rewrite the film or what will be suitable in respecting Walker's death. Walker, 40, was a favorite on the set of the Fast and Furious movies, and his death has left his fellow stars, including Vin Diesel and Tyrese, and the crew devastated, and shocked.

Fast and Furious 7,  was underway shooting in Atlanta, was on a break for the Thanksgiving holiday. As Mstars recently reported, Walker had returned to Southern California when the red Porsche he was a passenger in crashed Saturday afternoon in Valencia, bursting into flames. The driver of the car, Roger Rodas, was a well respected financial adviser and the CEO of Walker's company Always Evolving, the pals met because of their shared passion for cars.

Fast and Furious was set to hit theaters summer 2014, July 11. The delay in production could impact that release date. In addition, marketing Fast and Furious 7 could become a challenge, considering Walker died in a crash of a flashy car similar to those used in the movies.

According to the The Hollywood Reporter, insiders say a large part of the film had been shot, although in January, Walker and the rest of the Fast 7 team were scheduled to travel to Abu Dhabi to film additional scenes.

"All of us at Universal are heartbroken," a studio spokesperson said in a statement Saturday night. "Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the Fast and Furious films, and to countless fans. We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to Paul's family."