Here's What Happens To A Film When An Actor Dies During Film Production

The death of an actor during a film's production forces movie executives to question what to do next. How do Hollywood studios handle the issue?

Philip Seymour Hoffman had seven days left of filming on the final ‘Hunger Games’ when he died from a suspected heroin overdose.

Although film studio Lionsgate has stated that all his scenes in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 had been completed, recent reports claim he still had one "crucial" scene to film. With Hoffman's character playing a significant role in the final two parts of the dystopian franchise, movie bosses will be planning how to include him - if at all.

Sadly, it is not uncommon for films to lose their stars prematurely during production. Examples include Oliver Reed, who died during the filming of ‘Gladiator’ in 1999; Heath Ledger, who died in 2008 while working on ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’; and Brandon Lee, who was fatally wounded in an accident on the set of ‘The Crow’ in 1993. Each film employed different methods to continue production, included script rewrites, using digital visual effects and having new actors take over the role.