Furious 7 (often stylized as
Furious Seven and alternatively known as
Fast Seven or
Fast & Furious 7)
[7] is a 2015 American
action film directed by
James Wan and written by
Chris Morgan. It is the seventh installment in the
Fast and the Furious franchise. The film stars
Vin Diesel,
Paul Walker,
Dwayne Johnson,
Michelle Rodriguez,
Tyrese Gibson,
Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges,
Jordana Brewster,
Kurt Russell, and
Jason Statham.
Furious 7 follows Dominic Toretto (Diesel), Brian O'Conner (Walker) and the rest of their team, who have returned to the
United States to live normal lives after securing amnesty for their past crimes in
Fast & Furious 6
(2013), until Deckard Shaw (Statham), a rogue special forces assassin
seeking to avenge his comatose younger brother, puts them in danger once
again.
[8]
With the previous three installments set between
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006),
Furious 7 is the first installment in the franchise to take place after
Tokyo Drift. The film also marks the final film appearance of Walker, who died in a
single-vehicle accident on November 30, 2013, with filming only half-completed.
[9] Following Walker's death, filming was delayed for script rewrites, and his brothers, Caleb and
Cody, were used among others as stand-ins to complete his remaining scenes.
[10]
Plans for a seventh installment were first announced in February 2012
when Johnson stated that production on the film would begin after the
completion of
Fast & Furious 6. In April 2013, Wan, predominantly known for horror films, was announced to direct the film in place of
Justin Lin,
who left the franchise after directing the previous four installments.
Casting began in the same month with the re-signing of Diesel and
Walker, and an initial release date was set.
Principal photography began in
Atlanta,
Georgia, in September 2013, resumed in April 2014 and ended in July 2014, with other filming locations including
Los Angeles,
Colorado,
Abu Dhabi and
Tokyo.
Furious 7 premiered in Los Angeles on April 1, 2015, and was first released in
Australia on April 2, 2015, and then in the United States on April 3, 2015. The film was also released in
3D,
IMAX 3D, and
4DX
internationally. Upon release, the film became a critical and
commercial success, with praise being aimed at the film's action
sequences and its tribute to Walker. The film grossed $397.6 million
worldwide in its first five days of release, which is the
third-highest-grossing opening of all time.
The film has grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the
highest-grossing film in the franchise after just twelve days, the
third-highest-grossing film of 2015[11] and the
sixth-highest-grossing film of all time. A
sequel is scheduled to be released on April 14, 2017.
