Are you an “Indiana Jones” fan? If so, you’ll be interested to know that Lucasfilm used advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology to de-age Harrison Ford for parts of the upcoming fifth film in the franchise, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” In this blog post, we’ll explore how they did it, how Ford reacted to seeing his younger self, and how it will affect the film. So grab your fedora and let’s get started!
Ford recently told Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show” that his de-aged face is actually his real face, as Lucasfilm used artificial intelligence to comb through all of the decades-old footage the studio has of him. Ford has long been one of Lucasfilm’s biggest stars thanks to roles in “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones.” The AI program even had access to rolls of film featuring Ford that never made it to theaters.
“They have this artificial intelligence program that can go through every foot of film that Lucasfilm owns,” Ford said. “Because I did a bunch of movies for them, they have all this footage, including film that wasn’t printed. So they can mine it from where the light is coming from, from the expression.”
“I don’t know how they do it. But that’s my actual face,” Ford continued. “Then I put little dots on my face and I say the words and they make [it]. It’s fantastic.”
Directed by James Mangold, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” takes place in 1969 and is set against the space run as Indiana Jones works to prevent the re-emergence of Nazism. The opening sequence takes place in 1944, hence the need to de-age Ford. Producer and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy previously told Empire magazine that she hopes viewers will just think they found old footage of Ford rather than be distracted by the technology that went into de-aging him.
Ford told Empire that seeing himself de-aged was “a little spooky,” but he added, “This is the first time I’ve seen it where I believe it… I don’t think I even want to know how it works, but it works. It doesn’t make me want to be young, though. I’m glad to have earned my age.”
Disney will release “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” in theaters nationwide on June 30, 2023. We can’t wait to see Harrison Ford’s de-aged face in action!
Source: variety.com