This article contains spoilers for The Flash. While the death of an actor used to mean that their on-screen career was over, the power of Hollywood CGI technology has now sured life span, and in the last several years, a variety of actors who have ed away have been resurrected on-screen using CGI. The following films include movies that used CGI to bring back actors who ed away before or in the middle of filming. For the most part, these actors were brought back on-screen in order to successfully complete the arc of their character.
Although the act of bringing back a deceased actor on-screen is a controversial one, it has happened fairly often in the past few years. Using old footage, these films utilize CGI technology to recreate an actor's countenance and voice, so they seem almost as real as the rest of the cast. The benefit of this technological advancement is that characters in major franchises do not have to be scrapped completely when an actor es away in the midst of production. Furthermore, this new CGI ability is an impressive feat that, though it should be used wisely, is an incredible way to honor and end an actor's career after a sudden death.
10 Peter Cushing - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
In 2016, Rogue One brought back Grand Moff Tarkin, despite Peter Cushing having died twenty years prior. Cushing first appeared in the franchise in 1977 as villain Grand Moff Tarkin. Although Cushing's Tarkin died at the end of Star Wars, his performance became iconic for his evil look and snarling lip. Therefore, it was especially nostalgic when director Gareth Edwards resurrected Cushing in the Star Wars prequel. Cushing was inserted into the film by superimposing his likeness from the original Star Wars film onto actor Guy Henry. Henry completed the on-set acting and Cushing's appearance and voice were arranged on top.
9 Marlon Brando - Superman Returns
Even through a reboot, the Superman franchise brought Marlon Brando back to his role as Jor-El in 2006's Superman Returns. Brando first appeared as Jor-El, Superman's biological father, in 1978's Superman. Due to money disputes, Brando was removed from Superman II, but reappeared through CGI many years later and two years after he died, in Superman Returns. The film used footage from his original appearance in Superman paired with CGI to recreate his performance.
8 Harold Ramis - Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Although Harold Ramis had hopes of creating another Ghostbusters sequel, his death in 2014 prevented him from being a part of that project, at least physically. Ramis, who played Egon Spengler in the original Ghostbusters films and had a hand in writing and creating them, appeared posthumously in 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Not only did Ramis appear as his original character Egon, using footage from his performances in Ghostbusters, but he was also age-progressed to match the time frame of the sequel. Ghostbusters: Afterlife brought Egon back into the story but also acts as a loving dedication to Ramis and his love of the franchise.
7 Audrey Hepburn - Galaxy Chocolate advert
In 2014, Galaxy Chocolate brought Audrey Hepburn back to life to star in one of their commercials. Although the elegant movie star died in 1993, her classic look was reimagined for the commercial, which depicted Hepburn with a Galaxy chocolate bar hopping into the car of a handsome man, Roman Holiday style. Due to restrictions in CGI at the time, it was a difficult feat to recreate Hepburn's features at such a close range, however using two body doubles, one for her body and one for her face, the creators used complete CGI to make Hepburn's distinct features look real and modern.
6 Laurence Olivier - Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
While Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow used a variety of animation and effects throughout, one of those was to bring famed British actor Laurence Olivier back to the screen. Though Olivier ed away in 1989, the action-adventure film, made in 2004, revitalized Olivier as the film's mad scientist and villain Dr. Totenkopf. In particular, the film used snippets of Olivier's work from when he was younger to create his character through computer manipulation. This is one of the earliest examples of a film recreating an actor's countenance many years after they had died.
5 Oliver Reed - Gladiator
In some cases, films must use CGI of necessity when an actor dies during production. In 1999, Oliver Reed was playing Proximo in Gladiator when he died suddenly of a heart attack. As he had already filmed the majority of his parts in the film, Reed's two final Gladiator scenes were finished through CGI. One scene depicted him talking to Maximus in jail and was achieved by using shadows, jail bars, and digitally grafting Reed's face onto a stand-in actor in post-production. The final scene is one in which he dies, which wasn't in the original script. A stand-in was shot from behind and footage from an earlier scene was spliced in.
4 Roy Scheider - Iron Cross
Yet another actor who died before finishing his final film was Roy Scheider. In 2008, the Jaws and French Connection actor was starring in Iron Cross as Joesph, a retired NYPD cop and Holocaust survivor. Meanwhile, Scheider was also battling multiple myeloma, a type of cell cancer that eventually led to his death. Scheider was not able to complete Iron Cross before his death in 2008, therefore, CGI had to be used to finish out his performance. However, what makes this CGI resurrection unique is that Scheider's stand-in wore a prosthetic latex mask based on Scheider's features along with computer technology to complete his final starring role.
3 Christopher Reeve - The Flash
One of the most recent CGI recreations to hit the big screen is Christopher Reeve in The Flash. As the multiverse becomes more and more popular in superhero films, it's less of a surprise when a previous actor from the franchise comes back for a new film, even if that actor has ed away. In this instance, Reeve played Superman throughout the 1970s and 1980s and reappeared in the DC universe in 2023. Although he died of health complications in 2004, Reeve makes an appearance as Superman in the newest The Flash film. His cameo was completed through the use of archival footage and CGI.
2 Paul Walker - Furious 7
A particularly famous and tragic use of CGI to bring back an actor was Paul Walker in Furious 7. During the filming of the seventh Fast and Furious movie, Paul Walker, who played Brian O'Conner throughout the franchise, was killed in a car accident. Rather than killing Walker's character in the Fast and Furious world, the directors decided to finish Walker's scenes in Furious 7 and retire his character. To complete the rest of his scenes, Walker's brothers Cody and Caleb were used as stand-ins due to their resemblance to their brother, and Walker's face was superimposed over the shots. The film was released after a delay.
1 Carrie Fisher - Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
A major star who ed away before the conclusion of her on-screen appearances was Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia. Fisher, along with Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, signed on to appear in the newest Star Wars trilogy, and consequently, appeared in The Force Awakens, Rogue One, and The Last Jedi. Then, before Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker began production in 2016, Fisher ed away. After much debate about whether she would appear through CGI recreation, Star Wars 9 brought Leia back by way of unreleased footage from The Force Awakens. Fisher appeared through CGI not only as she looked before her death, but also as her younger self.
While using CGI to resurrect actors can be a tricky business, it has definitely been used in beneficial ways. Not only do the actors have their final performances completed, but they are also being honored through recreation. Although there is still debate over the morals and ethics of CGI in this circumstance, for now, it will likely remain a fairly common practice.
