10 Films That Had To Be Altered Because Of Real Life Tragedies

Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus follows a travelling theatre troupe whose leader is able to take his audience members through a magical mirror to explore the depths of their imaginations, presenting them with a choice between enlightenment and gratifying ignorance.

Production was halted when Heath Ledger was found dead in New York City on the morning of January 22, 2008, having taken an accidental overdose of prescription medication the night before. Gilliam admitted that he initially thought the project was finished when he was informed of Ledger's death, though the production rallied to finish the film in the actor's honour.

As was the case with Philip Seymour Hoffman in Mockingjay, the use of CGI was considered, with the initial idea being that Ledger's character Tony would be physically transformed in the Imaginarium in a similar style used on Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. In the end, Gilliam decided a more suitable solution was to call on Ledger's friends in the business to finish his part for him.

Tom Cruise reportedly asked Gilliam if he could join the project, though the director wanted to keep things "in family" and would only consider those who knew Ledger personally. Eventually, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell were all cast to replace Ledger in certain scenes, portraying transformed versions of Tony travelling through magical realms.