Thanks in no small part to the $1.5 billion worldwide gross of Furious 7, Universal has a ton to celebrate this year thus far. That film - which included a poignant farewell tribute to the late Paul Walker - quickly became the highest-earning entry in the long-running Fast & Furious movie franchise and marks the beginning of a new era for the series.

Furious 8 has already received a 2017 release date, with word that the film may be set in New York and could bring back more familiar faces from previous installments (such as Eva Mendes' Agent Fuentes from 2 Fast 2 Furious and Fast Five's post-credits scene). However, before fans start to get too hyped up about the next Fast & Furious adventure, we've received some interesting insight into this year's addition installment.

Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal, we have our first look at a new deleted scene from Furious 7 (see above) that sheds new light on the mystery surrounding Letty's (Michelle Rodriguez) amnesia. In the film, the character is still struggling to regain her memory, and this footage reveals that Letty travelled to the medical clinic where she recovered after the explosion (seen in Fast & Furious) that nearly killed her. Moreover, it is revealed here that the person to save her was none other than Gisele (Gal Gadot), who makes a brief return appearance here via flashback.

Michelle Rodriguez as Letty in Furious 7

Although the scene is a interesting character moment that nicely develops the journey Letty found herself on after Fast & Furious 6, it's easy to see why director James Wan made the decision to cut this sequence from Furious 7. After all, the series is most notable for its over-the-top action sequences, and an argument could be made that this scene is too much of a detour from the main story (read: it could significantly slow down the pace of the film), without adding to it.

Still, the climactic reveal that Letty has recovered her memory by the end of Furious 7 does seem to come out of nowhere, and more scenes like this one could have developed that subplot a bit more - allowing for a more satisfying moment when Dom (Vin Diesel) and moviegoers learned that the truth. Of course, there's every chance that Letty's backstory could be developed even further in subsequent films, especially since the franchise is in something of a crossroads now, as far as deciding which stories to tell next.

Furious 7 is out on Blu-ray and DVD on September 15, 2015. Furious 8 hits U.S. theaters on April 14, 2017.

Source: The Wall Street Journal