James Dean, the ’50s-era superstar not the porn actor or the sausage king, has reportedly just been cast in the upcoming Vietnam war drama Finding Jack.

Dean, it should be noted, died at the age of 24 back in 1955. But a fatal car crash can’t stop producers and directors from using a combination of past footage, photos and CGI to recreate him for the screen. 

Finding Jack is based on the true story of 10, 000 military dogs abandoned in Vietnam after the war and focuses on one man who has bonded with his lab and refuses to return to America without him 

Dean will be playing a supporting role, after the filmmakers obtained the rights to Dean’s image from his family.

The producers released the following sartement:

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

Great idea! NOT!! Remember how annoyed we all were when dead Fred Astaire was brought back to sell vacuum cleaners and Audrey Hepburn was resurrected to sell ice cream bars? Now multiply that by a whole movie. PLEASE DON’T LET THIS BECOME THE NEW NORM IN HOLLYWOOD! I shouldn’t have to say this, but find live actors!

(via Hollywood Reporter; photos: Avalon)