April 3, 2015 will be the release date for Fast and Furious 7, aka Furious 7, and there is a lot of expectation for it.  The Fast and The Furious series has grown into quite a franchise, and the seventh installment looks very good for Universal.  Here is what is known of the film a few days in advance, along with its Cast and Spoilers. 

I'll start by addressing the elephant in the room that surrounds this film.  When Paul Walker passed away on November 30, 2013, there was a lot of concern whether or not this series could survive without his presence.  Paul Walker died before he was finished with all his scenes from Fast and Furious 7, which would make this his final film.  After Walker's passing, there was an emergency meeting to decide what to do after one of the stars of the film has gone.  Some of Walker's scenes from The Fast and Furious 7 were already complete, but Walker's two brothers, Cody and Caleb, finished all the final scenes. 

One of the big speculations is the end of Brian's character arc, but the Latin Post says that Paul Walker will not be killed off in the context of the storyline.  Instead, it looks like there will be some kind of retirement or some settling down of his character. According to ComicBook.com, most reviews of the film say that Furious 7 is a definite send off to Walker.  I realize that might be a big spoiler, but a lot of reviews are not giving spoilers about what happens to Paul Walker's character, but most agree that Walker would have been proud of Furious 7. 

In fact, most of the reviews of Furious 7 have been overwhelmingly positive, showing a 9.1 on the film's imdb site.  So far, here is the imdb summary of the plot of Furious 7:  "Deckard Shaw seeks revenge against Dominic Toretto and his family for the death of his brother".   

Related: 'Furious 7 Is a Testament to Paul Walker's Legacy,' Says Movie Producer Neal H. Moritz 

Deckard Shaw will be played by modern-day action hero Jason Statham, star of the Transporter and Expendables action movie franchises.  He is considerably upset over the death of his brother, Owen Shaw, who died at the end of Fast and Furious 6. 

Toretto will be played by Vin Diesel, who has been the heart of these films since the first, even though he was absent from a few of The Fast and The Furious offerings.  Dwayne Johnson will also be returning as well as most of the Fast and Furious cast members. 

Interesting additions to the cast are big names like acting veteran Kurt Russell and pop song star Iggy Azalea.  It is unknown what roles they will have in Furious 7, as their names of their roles on Furious 7's imdb page are not specific with names like "Mr. Nobody" and "Female Racer" respectively. 

Yahoo News has revealed that Vin Diesel is starting to talk about Furious 8, and how Kurt Russell's character will have a bigger role.  Adding to the rumors of Furious 8 is Helen Mirren, who wants to be the villain, according to the Mary Sue. 

The series has strayed pretty far from its original 2001 release of The Fast and The Furious, which was a surprise hit and a major breakout for Vin Diesel.  The original film was an undercover cop story that had street racing in its setting.  Now the films are over-the-top action films, and Screen Rant says that the story of Furious 7 will come back to L.A.  This might explain the tagline of Furious 7 with "Vengeance Hits Home". 

It looks like Furious 7 intends to be the big summer movie even before the summer even begins, and I'm sure that Furious 8 will also be big as well once that gets the Universal greenlight.