James Dean Will Act in a New Movie, Thanks to CGI

Nearly 65 years after his death, the actor will be reanimated for a Vietnam-era drama

James Dean Will Act in a New Movie, Thanks to CGI

He died before the Vietnam War even began, but 1950s icon James Dean will reportedly play a role in a new action-drama movie set during that conflict thanks to the magic of CGI.

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the Rebel Without A Cause actor who died in a car crash at the age of 24 in 1955 has been cast in Finding Jack, which deals with the existence and abandonment of over 10,000 military dogs at the end of the Vietnam War. Filmmakers Anton Ernst and Tati Golykh have obtained the rights to use Dean’s image from his family, and the actor will be constructed via “full body” CGI using actual footage and photos. He will be voiced by another actor.

Dean — who, again, has been dead for almost 65 years — will play the “secondary lead role” in the movie, a character named Rogan. “We searched high and low for the perfect character to portray the role of Rogan, which has some extreme complex character arcs, and after months of research, we decided on James Dean,” Ernst told the publication.

“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,” he added. “The family views this as his fourth movie, a movie he never got to make. We do not intend to let his fans down.”

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