Tom Hanks and Robin Wright to be de-aged using Metaphysic AI program in new Robert Zemeckis film

Last Updated on February 8, 2023

Whether we like it or not, AI is a tool that is revolutionary for filmmakers. De-aging technical processes have now taken to adopting Deepfake methods to accurately recreate the faces of younger versions of actors or place them on doubles. The Hollywood Reporter has now learned that actors Tom Hanks and Robin Wright will be reuniting along with Robert Zemeckis for a new project where they will be de-aged using AI technology.

Deepfakes are controversial content. They allow the artist to use someone’s likeness at their disposal. The agency CAA has recently signed a deal to partner up with the tech firm Metaphysic Live. The program is set to be used in Zemeckis’ planned film titled Here, which is based on a graphic novel that will follows the lives of inhabitants of a single room through many years. To show the passage of age, Tom Hanks and Robin Wright are set to be deepfaked using younger images of themselves.

The film’s visual effects supervisor, Kevin Baillie, is excited to see the method put to use, “It is incredible to see Metaphysic’s AI-generated content flawlessly integrated into a shot live on set. The actors can even use the technology as a ‘youth mirror’ – testing out acting choices for their younger selves in real-time.”

Thomas Graham of Metaphysic expounded, “With the support of CAA and by working on projects like Here, Metaphysic is demonstrating the transformative power of hyperreal AI to shape the future of entertainment and to eventually help people create AI-generated, photorealistic immersive content while they own and control their data.”

If you’re curious, you can scour YouTube to check out the various results of deepfake videos. After The Mandolorian featured a scene of a de-aged Mark Hamill using normal CGI methods, it was met with criticism as it looked too processed and unconvincing. They have since adopted deepfake for improved shots in the subsequent scenes with a young Luke Skywalker.

AI tech as a whole is causing a stir with artists as it has recently been used to create pieces out of thin air, with the user simply typing in the concept description. Here, which will mark the first collaboration between Hanks, Wright, and Zemeckis since Forrest Gump is set to release sometime in 2024 by Sony Pictures Entertainment.