JAMES DEAN SET TO APPEAR IN A MOVIE SIX DECADES AFTER HIS DEATH
James Dean is coming back from the dead to appear in a new movie, a Hollywood production company said last Wednesday, causing an uproar about the idea of reincarnating one of America’s most beloved film icons.
Magic City Films said it had obtained the rights from Dean’s estate to digitally recreate the “Rebel Without A Cause” star, who died in a 1955 car accident at age 24, for a Vietnam War-era action drama called “Finding Jack.”
Dean will be recreated through a mixture of old photos and footage, along with computer-generated creations projected over stand-ins. A different actor will lend his voice to what will be a secondary role for Dean’s character.
“We feel very honored that his family supports us and will take every precaution to ensure that his legacy as one of the most epic film stars to date is kept firmly intact,” producer Anton Ernst said in a statement. “The family views this as his fourth movie, a movie he never got to make. We do not intend to let his fans down.”
However, many fans were horrified at the idea. Style publication Esquire.com ran a story listing “35 working actors they could have cast, instead,” while youth culture website Vice.com pleaded “Please don’t do this.”
“This is among the most ghastly things to ever happen,” Nerdist contributing editor
Lindsey Romain wrote on
Twitter.
CMG Worldwide, which licenses intellectual property for dead celebrities, including Dean, musician Chuck Berry and astronaut Neil Armstrong, said the casting would open up new opportunities.
“With the rapidly evolving technology, we see this as a whole new frontier for many of our iconic clients,” CMG said in a statement.
“Finding Jack” will not be the first time that actors have appeared onscreen long after their death. Peter Cushing, who died in 1994, was brought back to life as Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin for the 2016 film, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” using computergenerated imagery.
The late Carrie Fisher will be featured in the upcoming movie “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” but the makers will use unseen footage the actress recorded before her death in 2016 rather than CG imagery.
“Finding Jack” is scheduled for release in November 2020.