Body doubles & CGI can’t bring Paul Walker back to life

Shooting has resumed on “Fast & Furious 7,” and now we’re learning exactly how the late Paul Walker will remain in the film.

According to Variety, producers “have hired four actors with bodies very similar to [Walker’s] physique.” The actors will be used for movement and as a base, as Walker’s face and voice will then be used over them using CGI technology.

Producers said they don’t want to write Walker completely out of the movie and pretend like he never existed, but they also can’t give him the respectful departure he deserves because he died while in the middle of shooting key scenes. They said this is the compromise.

I don’t get it.

It’s been determined that speed, and not mechanical failure, caused the crash that killed both Walker and his friend. It was an accident and extremely tragic. Personally, I don’t want to see a movie filled with car chases and crashes starring Paul Walker. It just hits too close to home, knowing how he died in real life.

No matter how good the technology, we all know Walker did not finish this film. So, if I were to see it, in every scene I’d be wondering if that was really him or just a body double with computer technology wanting me to believe Paul was still alive.

I wish he wasn’t dead, but he is.

Why didn’t producers just scrap the movie (since they were only mid-way through shooting) or creatively write him out of the script?

There was talk at one time of having Walker’s brother, Cody, who’s a movie stuntman, fill-in as a body double. I wasn’t a fan of that, but I did think it would be great if Cody wound up in the movie. I envisioned a scene where Walker’s character is called away and his younger brother becomes part of the crew.

To me, this would have been a way for Cody to honor his brother’s memory.
Another option would have been to have Walker die early in the film in some heroic manner that’s discussed as opposed to seen.

Computer technology can do amazing things, but it can’t bring people back to life.