"Furious 7" is not set to hit theaters until April 3, but the film was given a surprise premiere at the March 16 South by Southwest Film Fest. Neal Moritz, producer of the franchise, asked the attendees to avoid spoiling the ending on the Internet in honor of the late actor Paul Walker.
"You guys are going to get to see the movie tonight without knowing what happens to Paul's storyline," Moritz told the crowd, as quoted by MTV. "Whatever you want to say after the movie is cool, but please let future audiences see it the way you're going to see it tonight."
Tyrese Gibson, who plays Roman Pearce in the film, followed this statement, "The reason that we kept this thing going became on behalf of our brother Paul Walker."
Walker, one of the two main leads in the series along with Vin Diesel, tragically died in a car accident in November 2013. His brothers Cody and Caleb took over to shoot the rest of his scenes and to give the character a proper send-off.
The brothers worked as stand-ins for Paul while his face was digitally added, a similar technique used in the film "The Social Network." Cody also plays a minor role in the film, perhaps to give weight to the departure of Paul's character and storyline.
It has been confirmed by the producers and by director James Wan that Walker's Brian O'Conner will be given a happy ending — a retirement, as they call it — instead of killing the character off.
Numerous reviews have already poured out of the midnight screening. Ramin Satoodah of Variety reported that the film garnered positive responses from its audience.
In relation to the SXSW Film Fest, "Furious 7" was screened alongside films such as "Ex Machina," "Get Hard," and "7 Chinese Brothers."
