It's been nearly four years since Paul Walker's accidental death during the shooting of Furious 7, and while his passing is still painful for his daughter, Meadow Walker, the young woman has finally wrapped up a long-running legal squabble connected to the Fast and the Furious franchise actor. In September 2015, Meadow Walker had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Porche, as Paul Walker was in a Porsche Garrera GT when he and driver Roger Rodas crashed on November 30, 2013. Now it's being reported that Meadow has settled the lawsuit against the car manufacturer.
While the terms of the settlement remain confidential, E! News has reportedly obtained documents that say the lawsuit was resolved on October 16, with both parties requesting a dismissal at that time. The lawsuit originally alleged that the Porsche Garrera GT "lacked safety features" that could have either prevented the car crash from happening or at least allowed Paul Walker to survive. It also alleged that this particular car model "had a history of instability and control issues," and that Porsche had reportedly not installed the electronic stability control system that was specifically designed to prevent the kind of swerving movement that this car went through right before the tragedy. Although law enforcement ruled that Porsche Garrera GT was going between 80-93 miles per hour before the crash, the lawsuit claimed that Paul Walker and Roger Rodas may have actually only been going between 63-71 miles per hour, and that a "defective" seat belt prevented Walker from escaping. In any case, with the lawsuit settled, now Meadow Walker can finally close this chapter of her life.
Furious 7's principal photography began in September 2013, and after Paul Walker's death that November, production was delayed until April 2014. While Walker had already shot many of his scenes, Walker's brothers, Caleb and Cody, were brought in as stand-ins for Brian Walker to make it easier for the digital effects company Weta Digital to recreate the actor's likeness. In the end, Brian O'Connor's story was successfully concluded, and Furious 7 went on to earn many positive reviews and gross over $1.5 billion worldwide.
While Paul Walker is no longer with us, Brian O'Connor is still alive and well in the Fast and the Furious world. At the end of Furious 7, Brian decided to retire from his life of car chases and heists so he could spend more time with his family. Brian and Dom bid farewell in the most appropriate way for a franchise like this: driving next to each other and then going their separate ways, literally. Brian and Mia were briefly mentioned in The Fate of the Furious earlier this year when Roman Pierce suggested they bring Brian and Mia in to help with the Dom situation, which Letty Ortiz quickly vetoed. Dom also named his new son Brian at the end of the movie in honor of his best friend.
The Fast and the Furious franchise will continue when the spinoff Hobbs and Shaw, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham's respective characters, is released on July 26, 2018. Fast and Furious 9 will follow on April 10, 2020, with the 10th movie coming out on April 2, 2021.
