'Fast and Furious 7' to be released in April 2015: Vin Diesel

NEW YORK - Reuters

U.S. actor Paul Walker presents a creation during Sao Paulo Fashion Week in this file photo taken March 21, 2013. Walker, who became a symbol of street-racing and car culture in his role as law enforcement officer Brian O'Conner, was killed in a car accident in Los Angeles Dec 1, 2013. REUTERS photo

"Fast and Furious 7," the action film that was shut down after the sudden death in a car crash last month of actor Paul Walker will be released in April 2015, the star of the series, Vin Diesel, said on Dec. 22.
 
Diesel posted a message on his Facebook page saying "Fast and Furious 7 will be released ... April 10th 2015!," adding "P.s. He'd want you to know first ...," in an apparent reference to Walker, who was killed on Nov. 30 in a fiery car wreck in Santa Clarita in Southern California.

The film, the seventh in a series of hit films about car racing, was originally slated for release on July 11 next year, according to Universal Pictures, which is owned by Comcast Corp.

Walker became a symbol of street-racing and car culture in his role as law enforcement officer Brian O'Conner in the "Fast & Furious" series.

Days after the accident, which killed the car's driver as well as Walker, 40, Universal suspended production of the new movie.

The Diesel-led "Fast & Furious" movies, which have grossed more than $2 billion at the global box office, are one of two major franchises, along with the animated "Despicable Me" films, that helped turn around Universal Pictures in recent years.