Chris Evans and Zelda Williams Slam Movie Casting a CGI Version of James Dean: ‘This Is Awful’

Late actor James Dean will be returning to the big screen as a CGI version of himself more than 60 years after his death. The actor, who died at the age of 24 from a tragic car crash in 1955, will be playing the role of Rogan in directors Anton Ernst and Tati Golykh‘s latest film, Finding Jack.

Although some are excited to see how the movie turns out, a few could care less about watching the flick because they think it’s disrespectful to James’ memory. Avengers star Chris Evans took to Twitter on Wednesday, November 6, to share his opinion about the whole ordeal.

“I’m sure he’d be thrilled,” Chris wrote about the East of Eden actor. “This is awful. Maybe we can get a computer to paint us a new Picasso. Or write a couple new John Lennon tunes. The complete lack of understanding here is shameful.”

Robin Williams‘ daughter, Zelda Williams, completely agreed too. “I have talked to friends about this for YEARS and no one ever believed me that the industry would stoop this low once tech got better,” she tweeted on the same day. “Publicity stunt or not, this is puppeteering the dead for their ‘clout’ alone and it sets such an awful precedent for the future of performance.”

Knowing that there would be some pushback from the public, director Anton explained why he wanted James in the movie and that it wasn’t meant to be a gimmick.

“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,” he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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

In the early 1950s, James quickly became one of the most loved actors of all time when he played Cal Trask in East of Eden and Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause, both in 1955, as well as Jett Rink in 1956’s Giant.

What do you think about James returning to the big screen?