Harrison Ford Talks Digital Age Reduction in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Bell of Destiny'
After all, Lucasfilm has a ton of material to work with.
Harrison Ford is getting ready to don his iconic hat and whip combo again as the actor stars in this summer's Indiana Jones and Wheel of Fortune. Ford will also appear in the upcoming Apple TV+ feature "Downsizing," where he digitized some of the film's footage from past settings. The actor appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert this week, where he discussed his experience with the studio's anti-aging techniques. After starring in several films for Lucasfilm over the years, the studio has a vast library of footage of actors' faces: ^The studio is no stranger to the technology used to digitally age Ford, as how they utilize the same Technology software for several Star Wars projects. In The Mandalorian's second season finale, which recently released a poster for the upcoming third season, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) came to save Grogu from Din Jalin (Pedro Pascal) ) so that he could receive Jedi martial arts training. Hamill underwent digital age reduction in an effort to make him look like he did in 1983's Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, which debuts around the same time as Disney+ A popular show on the Star Wars timeline.
That is my actual face. At that age. They have this artificial intelligence program. It can go through every foot of film Lucasfilm owns, because I did a bunch of movies for them. They have all this footage, including film that wasn't printed. They could mine from where the light is coming from, the expression. But that's my actual face. I put little dots on my face and I say the words and they make it. It's fantastic.
The first time Disney and Lucasfilm used the technology to significant effect was in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The software was used to reprise the late Peter Cushing's role as imposing Governor Tarkin in the series' first live-action spinoff. By using a stand-in and digitally inserting Cushing's face during the performance, the character appeared to be played by the original actor, despite his death in 1994. Rogue One got its own spinoff in the form of last year's TV series Andorra, starring Diego Luna.
Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Fortune will be set in 1969, with the Indy Empire living in the context of the space race. Jones is disturbed by the fact that the U.S. government has recruited ex-Nazis to help defeat the Soviet Union into space, and his goddaughter (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) decides to join him on the journey. Directed by James Mangold, who may helm DC Studios' upcoming Raiders of the Swamp movie, the fifth installment in the Raiders of the Lost Ark franchise In theaters June 30.
You can find the full interview with Ford below:
