With Fast and Furious 7 being mid-way through filming, many will wonder how and if the movie will continue on following the Nov. 30 death of one of its lead actors: Paul Walker.

The 40-year-old died in a car crash in Santa Clarita, Calif. He was sitting in the passenger seat of a Porsche, that was reportedly his, when the driver of the car crashed into a tree. The car then caught on fire. Both Walker and the driver were pronounced dead on the spot.

Fast and Furious fans were given some reassurance about the future of the franchise when a source close to the film’s cast told HollywoodLife.com the seventh installment will continue filming as a way to honor Walker. The film is slated for a July 2014 release.

"Many people within the production haven't even heard the tragic news because of the holidays, but its almost positive that the movie will still move forward in his honor," the insider said. "Once people get back to work on Monday, many meetings will be happening."

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Actors have died while their movies were in production before. Heath Ledger passed away in 2008 with several scenes left to film in director Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp stepped in to shoot in Ledger's part. Oliver Reed died while making 2000's Gladiator, requiring director Ridley Scott to insert a digital recreation of Reed's face for a few shots.

Walker's character has been a part of Fast and Furious franchise from the first film in 2001. The first movie in the series was about Brian O'Conner (Walker), an undercover cop infiltrating a crew of drag-racing thieves led by Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto. Afterwards there was 2006's The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - the only film in the series in which Walker did not appear - and the last was June's Fast & Furious 6.

The last post to Walker’s Twitter profile before his accident on Saturday was dated Nov. 29, and included a still from what appeared to be the set of Fast & Furious 7:

Tags: Fast and Furious 7 Paul Walker