Superman Returns
Carrie Fisher ’s posthumous return as Leia inStar war 9isn’t the first prison term a movie has completed using footage of deceased actors . Fisher will be part ofEpisode IXthanks to director J.J. Abrams ' plan to incorporate unusedfootage of the belated Carrie FisherfromStar Wars : The Force Awakens . For lover who do n’t wish for Leia to dead go away from the terminal chapter of the Skywalker saga but also do n’t want to see the beloved actress rendered via CGI ( the way a younger translation of Leia was inRogue One : A Star Wars Story ) , this is the best potential move to include the grapheme in the motion picture .
unluckily , sometimes actors die during production of a film . One example isPhillip Seymour Hoffman , who died of a drug overdose midway through filming a central role inThe Hunger Games : Mockingjay , Part 2 . Hoffman had completed most of his scene in the moving picture and the manufacturer ' solution was simply to rewrite the film and transfer his remaining shot to dissimilar characters .
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There are other occasions , however , where an thespian died during product and the solutions were more unmanageable , leading to the use of body two-bagger , CGI , or other more originative mean ( oftentimes stillborn ) . There are yet other cases , like with Carrie Fisher andStar Wars 9 , where some films rolled photographic camera with a programme to include an actor who is already deceased . The results have varied in succeeder , but have unremarkably been creepy-crawly on some level ( which hopefully wo n’t be the case with Fisher ) .
Here are examples of plastic film that lost major star mid - production and what cure they employed , as well as films which began shoot know full - well one of their stars was already drained :
Paul Walker in Furious 7
As Brian O’Conner , Paul Walker was one of the headliners of theFast and the Furiousfranchise . Walker was in the midst of shootingFurious 7when he died in a tragical car accident in November of 2013 . To fill in the former actor ’s scene in the film , director James Wan employed over 350 CGI personal effects as well as long - length shot of Walker’sbrothers Cody and Caleb . The finale of the film featured one last CGI dart of Walker behind the wheel as he prepared to race his estimable friend Dominic Toretto ( Vin Diesel ) one final clock time . Paul Walker and Brian O’Conner ’s respectful send - off from theFastfranchise was warmly received by buff who were full aware that the actor had passed on .
Brandon Lee In The Crow
The Crowwas meant to be Brandon Lee ’s breakout role into stardom . The Logos of the legendary Bruce Lee , Brandon starred in this adjustment of the cult comic Quran create by James O’Barr . During yield , Lee was accidentally shot by a springy hummer from a property gun and died from his wound . With the tragic decease of his genius and leading gentleman’s gentleman , director Alex Proyas completed Lee ’s vista usingstuntman Chad Stahelskias a stomach - in , with Lee ’s face digitally superimposed over the Stahelski ’s to complete the illusion . The Crow , which say the story of a musician who died and is brought back to life to take payback on his orca , took on an eerie resonance and became a cult classic plastic film .
Related : Crazy Details Behind The fashioning Of The Crow
Bruce Lee In The Game of Death
During the filming ofThe Game of Deathin 1972 , its manager , producer , and champion Bruce Lee find an offer to asterisk inEnter The Dragon , which would become his key signature motion-picture show . Lee then tragically pop off in July 1973 , three months beforeEnter The Dragonwas unblock . Meanwhile , The Game of Deathremained incomplete until it was released in 1978 , after body doubles , voice - overs , and even a cardboard cutout of Lee was used to replace the late star in the miss scenes . The final film even incorporate footage of Lee ’s funeral , with the explanation that his fiber Hai Tien fudge his own demise .
Heath Ledger in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Fresh off what would be an Oscar - nominated use as The Joker in Christopher Nolan’sThe Dark Knight , Heath Ledger was the star of director Terry Gilliam’sThe Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassuswhen he die in January 2008 . With the moving picture nearing collapse ( Ledger was the " fundamental factor " in the pic ’s financing ) , Gilliam strike upon a plan to have unlike actors exchange Ledger in sealed scene , to reflect Ledger ’s character ’s power to physically transubstantiate inside the different fantasy kingdom of the Imaginarium . Ledger ’s good friendsColin Farrell , Jude Law , and Johnny Deppwere engage to stand in for the late star .
John Candy In Wagons East!
A beloved comedian in the 1980s , John Candy died in March 1994 during yield on the forgotten comedyWagons East!Most of Candy ’s scenes were n’t finish when he die and his starring purpose in the film was reduced , utilizing what little footage there was of Candy as a serial of repurposed reaction shots . Wagons East ! , which has a 0 % evaluation on Rotten Tomatoes , was ultimately a sorry fashion to terminate John Candy ’s comedic vocation .
Oliver Reed In Gladiator
Film legend Oliver Reed play Proximo , the mentor of Russell Crowe ’s Maximus in Ridley Scott’sGladiator . Reed , a notorious hell - agriculturist and alcoholic , died of a heart attack during productionofGladiator , leaving several important tantrum uncompleted . Utilizing a CGI digital masquerade superimposed over the head of a body twofold , Scott completed Reed ’s scenes , which spookily admit Proximo ’s death . The death of Reed ultimately lends an extra resonance to Proximo ’s most renowned line,“We are all shadows and dust , Maximus . shadow and detritus . "
Page 2 of 2:Movies Made With An Actor Already Deceased When Production Began
Marlon Brando In Superman Returns
recognize as one of the greatest actors in celluloid history , Marlon Brando died in July 2004 . Two twelvemonth later , footage of Brando as Jor - El , the father of Superman , appear in Bryan Singer’sSuperman Returns . Just as he appeared in Richard Donner ’s 1978Superman : The Movie , Brando ’s Jor - El appeared as a holographic image in the Fortress of Solitude . Isaac Bashevis Singer and his VFX party Rhythm and Hues utilized footage of Brando from the originalSupermanand create a digital model of the late actor . The grandness of Brando as Jor - El was becauseSuperman Returnswas design as a continuation - of - sorts ofSupermanandSuperman II , so the late player was a bridge to help establish that Christopher Reeve and Brandon Routh were playing the same Man of Steel .
Lawrence Olivier In Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
The 2004 box seat spot bombSky Captain and the World of Tomorrowis mostly call up as one of the first films to be pullulate only using a digital backlot , with live actor in a CGI - mise en scene . To portray the flick ’s supervillain , the mad scientist Dr. Totenkopf , theater director Kerry Conran turned to one of the greatest actors of all - time , Sir Lawrence Olivier , despite the fact that Olivier died in 1989 . Blendingarchival footage of the legendary actorwith CGI , Conran resurrected Olivier for one final public presentation opposite Jude Law , Gwyneth Paltrow , and Angelina Jolie .
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Bela Lugosi In Plan 9 From Outer Space
Generally recognize as the Worst Film of All - Time , director Ed Wood’sPlan 9 For Outer Spacefeatures the last performance of the legendary Bela Lugosi . TheDraculaactor struck up a friendship with Wood before his end in 1956 . Nonetheless , Wood set out to honor his friend by including him in a starring role inPlan 9 , which was release three years after Lugosi passed away . Utilizing one-time footage of Lugosi wearing his Dracula costume , Wood lease his wife ’s chiropractor Tom Mason ( who looked nothing like the actor ) to cut across his font and substitute for Lugosi in the theatrical role of the Ghoul Man . The results fooled no one but added toPlan 9 ’s dubitable status as a camp classic .
Peter Sellers In The Trail Of The Pink Panther
1982’sThe Trail of the Pink Pantherwas the 6th and final time Peter Sellers portrayed his iconic persona of Inspector Clouseau - despite the fact that the actor died 18 calendar month before yield even start . Sellers ' use in the film was comprised entirely of deleted scenes from previousPink Pantherfilms , primarilyThe Pink Panther Strikesagain , with a body double wear out bandages obscuring his face serving as a stand - in . Despite director Blake Edwards dedicating the film to Sellers , the family of the belated actor action the managing director , producers , and studio for their morbid decision to make the widely - panned motion-picture show and was ultimately grant $ 1 - million in restitution .
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