We live in a weird and exciting technological age when it comes to filmmaking. Bruce Willis may have withdrawn from acting, but it looks like we won’t see the last of him. Willis has become the first star in Hollywood to sell his rights to permit a “digital twin” of himself to be created for use on screen in TV and movie.
That digital twin will be created using deepfake technology. The actor has already played with this entire thing as he appeared in a phone advert without ever being on set. His face was digitally placed over another actor.
Deepcake is the company that bought the rights, and the actor had this to say in a statement:
“I liked the precision with which my character turned out. It’s a mini-movie in my usual action-comedy genre. For me, it is a great opportunity to go back in time. With the advent of modern technology, even when I was on another continent, I was able to communicate, work and participate in the filming. It’s a very new and interesting experience, and I thank our entire team.”
This whole “digital twin” thing is pretty absurd! It’ll be intriguing to see what other actors end up selling their “digital twin” rights. This also means we could start seeing ever more stars from the past brought to life again. We’ve seen this here and there like in the Star Wars franchise. But selling off the rights to someone’s likeness for a “digital twin” to be used whenever someone wants that’s a whole new kind of business.