Frank Vincent's Final Movie Renaming Characters to Honor Him

Frank Vincent won't get to play his final movie role, but he'll still be all over the project ... through the names of the film's 2 lead characters.

Frank was one of those leads in a movie called "Asbury Park." Krannel Pictures CEO, Dawn Krantz tells TMZ ... he was going to play Jimmy Two Shoes. The movie hasn't been shot yet, but Dawn says Frank was just starting to prep for the role. The other lead was named Big Mike.

Dawn says they've decided to change Jimmy's name to Frank, and Big Mike's to Vincent .. to honor their late star. She says there's no getting around recasting Frank's role -- the NJ native was such a big part of the film ... which is about '70s rock n' roll in Jersey.

As we reported ... Vincent died Wednesday after complications following heart surgery. He was 80.