'Furious 7' Trailer Has Big Debut; Paul Walker’s Final ‘Fast & Furious’ Movie Tops YouTube Views For The Week
“The Fast and the Furious” crew are kicking things into overdrive this week following the release of the first trailer for “Furious 7,” the next film in the surprisingly long-running franchise. Apparently, the series still has the gas to get fan’s attention as the video has already become one of the most-viewed trailers of the year.
According to Deadline, the trailer, which dropped on the film’s official Facebook page Saturday, reached 100 million Facebook views during its first 48 hours online. While about a quarter of those views came from the film’s account, the outlet notes that its “social savvy stars” brought in some serious numbers by posting the trailer to their personal social pages. Accounts for actors Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson and the late Paul Walker all reportedly shared the trailer.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that the “Furious 7” trailer ranks third in terms of YouTube views in 2014. It is topped only by “Fifty Shades of Grey” (36.4 million) and the recently released “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (50.6 million). This kind of popularity is surprising for a film that’s in its seventh installment in a franchise that’s been touch-and-go, in terms of quality, since 2001. However, “Furious 7” has some unfortunate buzz floating around it.
In Nov. of 2013, the franchise’s most consistent star, Paul Walker, was killed in a tragic car accident. The father of one was still filming “Furious 7” at the time of his death, which put production on hold for several months. Rather than kill off Walker’s character, Brian O’Connor, filmmakers reached out to the 40-year-old actor’s brothers Caleb and Cody. Using them, they were able to fill in some of the gaps that Walker could not and get the film back on track, complete with the late star’s scenes intact.
The trailer has a few obvious winks to Walker’s passing. At one point it seems to directly, yet respectfully, ask fans to get on board for “one last ride.” In addition, it’s packed with the exact over-the-top action fans have come to expect from the series. Some of the most notable scenes includes shots of a group of gorgeous cars parachuting from a plane, a machine-gun equipped bus, a metal pipe fight, Dwayne Johnson’s oiled muscles and some line about family.
“Furious 7” is scheduled to hit theaters on April 3, 2015. In the meantime, check out the action-packed trailer below:
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