'Fast and Furious 7' delayed after Paul Walker's death

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Production on the seventh installment of Hollywood's "The Fast and the Furious" film series will be delayed following Paul Walker's death, Variety said.

The blockbuster franchise's 40-year-old star died as the passenger in a car crash Saturday, moments after leaving a charity event with a friend, the driver, who was also killed.

Walker started work on the latest Universal Pictures "Fast and the Furious" street-racing sequel in September, but the production was on hiatus for Thanksgiving when he was killed. Production was expected to resume this month and the film was to be released in July.

Variety said the movie's director, James Wan, held a conference with Universal executives Sunday morning to discuss the future of the film and the fate of Walker's character, undercover Los Angeles police officer Brian O'Conner.