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The movies actors never got to finish – and how films handled their loss
From Marilyn Monroe to Carrie Fisher, we've taken a look at some of the actors who tragically died while in the middle of filming uncompleted projects.
- Patrick Cremona
Published: Thursday, 2 July 2026 at 7:00 am
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It's always tragic when an actor dies while still seemingly at the top of their game – with film fans left to mourn not just the loss of a great star but also the future films that they would now never get the chance to make.
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It's especially sad when – as has happened on several notable occasions – an actor passes whilst in the midst of filming what was set to be their next project.
Although in some cases those projects end up being abandoned, there are also several examples of films that pressed ahead and found a way to complete production out of respect for their late stars.
We've looked at examples from both of those categories below – read on for a list of movies which actors never got to finish before their deaths.
1. Marilyn Monroe – Something's Got to Give
Marilyn Monroe in Something's Got to Give. Getty
Production on this George Cukor-directed project – which was a remake of the 1940 Cary Grant-starring screwball My Favourite Wife – began in April 1962, with Monroe starring alongside Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse.
From the beginning, the shoot was disrupted, with Monroe suffering from bouts of illness, but a good deal of filming – including a much-publicised naked swimming scene – had taken place before her 36th birthday on 1 June.
After that point, Monroe said she was unavailable to film further scenes due to severe illness, and a prospective legal tussle ensued after she was fired in early June, with Martin refusing to return unless she was reinstated.
Tragically, Monroe was found dead on 5 August 1962 before anything was resolved, and the film would never be completed. A separate remake of My Favourite Wife – titled Move Over, Darling and starring Doris Day, James Garner and Polly Bergen – was ultimately released the following year.
For decades, hardly any footage from the unfinished Something's Got to Give was ever shown to the public. However, in 1990 an hour-long documentary called Marilyn: Something's Got to Give was released including extensive excerpts from the shoot.
Meanwhile, further sequences were repurposed for another documentary, Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days, which was broadcast on US network AMC in 2001.
2. Brandon Lee – The Crow
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One of the most tragic film deaths of all time, Brandon Lee passed away in 1993 while shooting Alex Proyas's superhero film The Crow – following an incident in which he was shot with a prop gun that had not been properly checked before it was fired.
Six hours after the incident, he was pronounced dead, with his mother filing a lawsuit alleging negligence – although this was eventually settled under undisclosed terms.
Lee – the son of silver screen legend Bruce Lee, who had also tragically died while still working on a film – had been due to get married just a week after filming was completed.
The actor had finished most of his scenes before the tragedy, and the decision was ultimately taken to continue with the film following some rewrites. Stuntman Chad Stahelski – who would go on to direct the John Wick films – acted as a stand-in for some new scenes, which also made use of digital face replacement to superimpose Lee's face on to his.
The film was eventually released in May 1994 and became a major cult hit.
3. Paul Walker – Furious 7
Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner in Furious 7.
The tragic death of Fast & Furious star Paul Walker in a car crash understandably received a lot of press attention in November 2013, with the actor dying within seconds after the car he had been a passenger in crashed into a concrete lamppost and two trees when driver Roger Rodas lost control.
Production on the seventh entry in the Fast franchise had begun two months earlier, with Walker returning to his long-running role as Brian O'Conner, and so unsurprisingly filming was indefinitely postponed in the wake of the horrific news.
Some reports emerged that the film might have even been completely cancelled, although this was soon shot down by director James Wan. Eventually production resumed in March of the following year, after the decision was taken to use stand-ins for Walker's remaining scenes, while extensive rewrites were also required to change the arc of his character.
Peter Jackson's Weta Digital visual effects company was hired to create Walker's likeness for his remaining scenes – with their job made easier by the fact that the late actor's brothers Caleb and Cody both agreed to be stand-ins.
The film was released in April 2015 and included a substantial – and deeply moving – tribute to Walker, which went down extremely well with fans of the franchise who had been shaken by his passing.
4. Chris Farley – Shrek
Chris Farley/Shrek. Getty/DreamWorks
When you hear the name Shrek, it's almost certain you'll immediately hear Mike Myers putting on a Scottish accent to deliver one of the Ogre's iconic lines – probably something to do with "donkey" or perhaps the phrase "What are you doing in my swamp?"
But before the Austin Powers and Wayne's World star took on the role, the character was almost played by a completely different actor – who even went so far as to record somewhere between 80 per cent and 95 per cent of his dialogue, according to various reports.
That actor was the comedian Chris Farley, known for his spell as a cast member on Saturday Night Live in the early '90s and his film roles in the likes of Airheads, Tommy Boy and Almost Heroes.
Sadly, Farley passed away at the age of just 33 in 1997, following a drug overdose. With his recordings unfinished, the decision was made to recast the role, with fellow SNL alum Myers stepping in and insisting that the lines were rewritten to create a new version of the character.
It was also slightly later that Myers added the Scottish accent, which had not been adopted in Farley's portrayal or even in his own first recording sessions.
Of course, the rest is history: Shrek's voice is now one of the most iconic in all of cinema and the film kickstarted a genuine cultural sensation that continues to this day – with a new film due for release next summer.
5. Oliver Reed – Gladiator
Oliver Reed and Russell Crowe in Gladiator. Universal
One of the most acclaimed British screen actors of all time, Reed had long suffered from troubles brought on by his heavy-drinking lifestyle before he was cast in a key role in Ridley Scott's Gladiator.
When filming got underway on the film in Malta, Reed "hadn't had a drink for months" according to co-star Omid Djalili, with Scott himself later revealing that he had promised not to drink during production.
However, in May 1999, Reed – then aged 61 – suffered a fatal heart attack after being challenged to a drinking match by a group of Royal Navy sailors, with several of his scenes still unshot.
The remainder of those scenes were completed using a body double, with Reed's face digitally attached in post-production and the film ultimately dedicated to the star's memory.
The eventual release offered a tragic reminder of just how superb a performer Reed was – earning him a posthumous BAFTA nomination for best supporting actor, with the film itself being named best picture winner at the Oscars.
6. Heath Ledger – The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Ledger was the lead of this Terry Gilliam fantasy film which also starred Christopher Plummer, Andrew Garfield and Tom Waits among its initial cast.
However, the star's tragic death from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs occurred while filming was still ongoing in 2008, with Gilliam initially believing the horrific news would spell the end for the film.
Production was suspended in the wake of the news, but attention also shifted as to how it could somehow be salvaged, with the director believing that he could dedicate the film to Ledger while adopting a plan to make his character Tony Shepard magically change appearance for the scenes that remained unfilmed.
This idea was eventually approved, and the A-list trio of Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law were each cast as new iterations of the character, taking it in turns to shoot the remaining scenes and new ones that had been added into the altered script.
Tom Cruise had reportedly also expressed interest in being one of the new faces of the character, but wasn't chosen by Gilliam as – unlike the other three – he had not been a close friend of Ledger's.
The film was eventually released in 2009, receiving a mixed response from critics.
7. Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julianne Moore in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II Photo by Murray Close/Getty Image
Few actors have appeared in more terrific films in the 21st century than the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman, and so his tragic death from a drugs overdose was understandably met with huge mourning from the film community in 2014.
Hoffman had been filming The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 at the time of the death, and although he had shot the majority of his scenes, there were two scenes his character Plutarch Heavensbee featured in that remained uncompleted.
Those scenes were eventually rewritten, with director Francis Lawrence saying: "He had two substantial scenes left and the rest were appearances in other scenes. We had no intention of trying to fake a performance, so we rewrote those scenes to give to other actors."
He continued: "The rest, we just didn't have him appear in those scenes. There's no digital manipulation or CG fabrication of any kind."
8. River Phoenix – Dark Blood
River Phoenix in Dark Blood. Getty
Another actor who died tragically young after struggles with addiction, Phoenix had built up a hugely impressive resume in his short career before his death at the age of just 23 in October 1993.
This film from The Vanishing director George Sluizer had seen him cast as a villain alongside Judy Davis and Jonathan Pryce, and production was immediately put on hold following his death – which occurred just prior to its planned completion.
Although the bulk of filming had taken place, some key scenes were unfinished, and the move was ultimately taken to abandon the project, which remained incomplete for almost two decades until Sluizer announced plans to release an altered version in 2012.
Sluizer had held onto the footage amid fears it might be destroyed and re-edited it into a new film, with stills and voiceover narration used to plug the gaps in the story.
It had its international premiere out of competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2012 and was later released for home entertainment, receiving mixed reviews from critics.
9. Natalie Wood – Brainstorm
The death of West Side Story star Natalie Wood by drowning in 1981 remains one of the most mysterious cases in Hollywood history, with many of the circumstances surrounding the incident still unknown and contested to this day.
At the time of her passing, she had been working on this sci-fi film from Silent Running director Doug Trumbull, which also starred Christopher Walken and Louise Fletcher.
Although Wood had filmed the majority of her scenes before her death, the film was almost abandoned completely in the aftermath – partly due to mounting financial problems at studio MGM, who refused to pay for the film to be completed, with Trumbull suggesting they were using Wood's death as an excuse.
After much negotiation, a deal was reached to press ahead and complete the film, with a slightly rewritten script and Wood's younger sister Lana cast to film the few scenes she had not completed.
When it was released in September 1983, it carried the dedication credit "To Natalie".
10. Carrie Fisher – Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa in Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker.
When Fisher suddenly passed away from cardiac arrest in December 2016, the final film in the Skywalker saga was still a long way from starting production – indeed Episode VIII, The Last Jedi, hadn't even been released.
However, the franchise legend had initially been planned for a major part in the closing entry of the saga, with plans to give a suitable send-off to a character who had been such a major part of the film series.
Following her death, it was almost immediately made clear that there were no plans to digitally generate her performance as had been the case in spin-off Rogue One, and it was later revealed that she might not appear in the film at all.
Eventually, however, a compromise was reached to use unused footage that she had shot for earlier film The Force Awakens to complete the story and give Princess Leia the planned payoff.
"When you watch the movie, hopefully you're seeing Carrie, and we obviously wanted to respect the integrity of her performance in every one of those pieces," visual effects supervisor Roger Guyett later revealed in an interview with Vanity Fair.
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Authors
Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
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