Toshiro Mifune died of multiple organ failure in 1997 ... while subsequent installments used Yūsaku Matsuda (who died of bladder cancer in 1989 at the age of 40) and Jean Reno as face models ...

Toshirō Mifune (April 1, 1920 - December 24, 1997) was a Japanese actor who is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Japanese cinema. He was born in Qingdao, China ...