It’s been 13 years since the first Fast and the Furious movie hit theaters. Five sequels have been released since then, and while the quality of the acting or the one-dimensional plots may not be Academy Award material, the franchise’s over-the-top chases, roaring action and cheesy lines have made it a cult favorite, especially among car enthusiasts.
Now the seventh installment, Furious 7, has wrapped up filming and is set to air nationwide on April 3, 2015. The first trailer is released, giving us some tantalizing clues about where the story might take us. It was released at a live event where the actors where on hand to talk about the movie and answer fan questions.
Revenge will be a central theme of the movie. It takes off from Fast & Furious 6, which ended with the death of the character Han, played by Sung Kang. The crew will be out to avenge Han’s death while at the same time Ian Shaw, the brother of the bad guy from the sixth movie, who is being played by Jason Statham, will be out to avenge the death of his sibling.
Another theme of the movie will be looking back at the evolution of the series and where it all began, in essence serving as a tribute to co-lead Paul Walker who passed away in a car accident late last year. For example, it’s even been confirmed that the popular Race Wars event from the first movie will be featured in Furious 7.
Walker’s character Brian O’Conner will still appear in Furious 7, with his brothers Cody and Caleb together with some CGI magic helping to fill in the scenes the late actor couldn’t film himself. Other actors from the first movie also set to feature include Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. They will be joined by later actors in the Fast family: Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris.
And then there are all the cars, such as the usual American muscle like a Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro; Japanese tuner cars like the Subaru WRX; plus some exotics like the Audi R8 and even the $3.4 million Lykan Hypersport from W Motors.