When Paul Walker met an untimely end during a break from filming Furious 7, everyone correctly assumed that his death would have an immediate impact on that film. What you might not have guessed is that the lack of his presence in Fast 8 is still making waves within the production. Actress Michelle Rodriguez recently opened up about what it was like to shoot Fast 8 without Walker, and her words make the void he left behind seem rather cavernous for the cast and crew. 

Here’s what Rodriguez told People Magazine about making Fast 8 without the late Paul Walker:

“Paul’s the heart of it, he’s the guy who really loved the genre, he loved that lifestyle. And not having that love affair with cars and that lifestyle, it removed a certain aspect of the soul of the franchise and it hurts all of us and we all know it.”

Pretty heavy, emotional stuff right there. 

One has to wonder how Fast 8 will turn out. Between these comments from Rodriguez, where she directly says that its missing a part of its soul now that Walker is gone, and the personal animosity between Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson that spilled over into the public arena…it just feels like there are bad vibes here. For a series that’s typically all lighthearted bubblegum and big dumb bombastic explosions, it sure sounds like the production of Fast 8 has been a pretty dark one.

We’ll find out if the Fast & Furious series has lost a step when Fast 8 comes out on April 14, 2017.

SOURCE: People