A CGI version of the late Paul Walker was considered for The Fate of the Furious according to the film’s director.
The passing of Paul Walker was a shock to fans around the world and ultimately led Furious 7 using CGI to send off his character in the right way.
Well according to F. Gary Gray, this technique was again considered for The Fate of the Furious, as he explained in a recent interview with Screen Rant.
“We had hundred of conversations about the best way, the classiest way to handle and address Paul’s legacy in this franchise. You know, there’s multiple ways you can go. You could create a digital Paul and make him more of a character. You could leave him out and pretend that he’s in this world anymore. These are all conversations we had and we felt like the choice we made respected his legacy the best. And my understanding is that his family was really happy with how we treated him.”
CGI versions of real life actors have become quite popular as of late with Star Wars using the technique to mixed reception with Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One.
Respect for the actor in question is of course the key issue here and it seems like the consensus of fans is to avoid this CGI technique wherever possible. So perhaps The Fate of the Furious made the right decision with regards to Walker.
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The Fate of the Furious is directed by F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton) and features a cast that includes Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Eva Mendes, Elsa Pataky, Lucas Black, Nathalie Emmanuel, Kurt Russell, Kristofer Hivju, Scott Eastwood, Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron.