After Paul Walker's Death, 'Fast and Furious 7' Likely Delayed

It's always a delicate situation when the star of a movie dies while that movie is still in production. There's a balance that has to be struck between honoring the person we've lost while still remembering that movies are businesses with dozens, if not hundreds, of people's employment tied to them.

Warner Bros. previously had to deal with a high-profile death when Heath Ledger passed away before The Dark Knight was released. Now Universal Pictures finds itself in the same situation after the unfortunate passing of Fast and Furious series star Paul Walker.

The Fast and Furious franchise has become one of the studio's most successful properties, with Fast and Furious 6 bringing in $788.7 million worldwide. That's a huge part of the studio's income, and if you took this franchise away, who knows how many people would lose their jobs.

Variety reports that Universal and Fast and Furious 7 director James Wan are trying to figure out how to move forward in the wake of Walker's death.

The film, which had been shooting in Los Angeles and Atlanta recently, had been scheduled for release on July 11, 2014, but a delay now seems likely. ... 

As of now, it is unclear how much of Walker’s footage had been shot, though judging by action photos posted on Twitter by the cast, it’s likely that the majority of footage lensed was costly action sequences. That makes it uncertain what creative solutions Wan and Universal are left with as they consider scenarios for Walker’s character, undercover Los Angeles police officer Brian O’Conner. It is expected that the studio will proceed with the pic, though Universal would not comment beyond a statement issued Saturday night.

Like I said before, this is a delicate situation. The movie can only hang in limbo for so long. How will Universal move forward?