'Furious 7' Abu Dhabi Premiere Canceled for Vin Diesel Baby Duties

Furious 7

A version of this story first appeared in the March 13 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
Furious 7 star Vin Diesel's daddy duties have put the brakes on a planned Abu Dhabi premiere for the next installment in the popular street-racing action franchise.
Diesel and his partner, Paloma Jimenez, are expecting their third child, sources tell THR. The notoriously private actor, 47, already has daughter Hania and son Vincent, but has never publicly announced that he and Jimenez are expecting another child.
The new baby likely will arrive around the same time that Diesel’s next film, Furious 7, hits theaters April 3. But the news has forced Universal to cancel a splashy world premiere March 10 at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, one of the film’s locations, because Diesel (also a producer on the pic) is opting not to go.

“He wants to be with his family at the birth; it’s a beautiful thing,” says a source. “What human being wouldn’t?”
A rep for Diesel couldn’t be reached, but a source adds that the premiere now will be April 1 in Los Angeles. According to a studio source, Universal is “happy to premiere the film in L.A., birthplace of the franchise, where a core fan base exists.”
Diesel is known to keep details of his personal life closely guarded. He never made a formal birth announcement for either of his children. On Aug. 26, 2013, he made the only public appearance with his partner and their kids, stepping out to receive his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Diesel is very much the face of the Fast & Furious franchise, which centers around his character, Dominic Toretto, and Paul Walker's cop-turned-street racer Brian O'Conner. Walker's tragic death in a car crash in November 2013 delayed production on Furious 7 and pushed the release date from July 2014 to April 2015. Furious 7 also stars Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris.  

The Fast & Furious franchise has earned a stellar $2.38 billion worldwide since launching with the first film in 2001. The most recent installment, Fast & Furious 6, earned $788.7 million worldwide.

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