They did a lot of digital reconstruction to finish Paul Walker's scenes in Furious Seven. They could probably do complete movie star synthesis from just some basic motion capture and facial 3D analysis.
Yes, and that was not an easy process for them.
They had to use any data they could to recreate every angle, facial expression, word he says, etc. from the previous FF films,
and they had to use his brothers to even get a slight match. All the meanwhile, he was mostly placed in areas of lowlight, had the camera back on him many times, or for distant shots. Parts were also rewritten to accommodate this, likely not just for the new ending but also because there were parts that would have been impossibly difficult to film.
I think we are much farther away than people imagine. We've just finally gotten good at de-aging effects, but even then it's still painfully obvious when they do so. I know you are referring to using a live person and getting their facial scans and motion capture, but in the end it will still have some "video game" feel to them. Look at Avatar. I'm sure its sequels will be breathtaking, but they will still be CGI after all.
Changing eye color is something completely different, and digital would likely be the way they go but I bet they still use colored contacts to get a preliminary "close" match, again just like Paul's brothers standing in on his behalf.
** Rest in peace, Timothy Volkert (1988 - 2003) **
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