Following his aphasia diagnosis, Bruce Willis announced his retirement from acting. Despite this, rumors he has sold his rights for film studios to use deepfake technology that will allow a “digital twin” of him to be preserved eternally for use in future projects have surfaced.
The BBC has discovered that this partnership was not agreed on by Willis, and that he, in fact, is not selling his face.
Although the digital preservation of aging, retired, or deceased celebrities and performers is not a new thing, Willis is the first to allegedly sell his rights.
Engineers from Deepcake developed the Willis “digital twin” using content from two of his most memorable films when he was in his early 30s and early 40s: The Fifth Element and Die Hard. The estate of Willis is to have final approval for projects that may go forward.
This idea is similar to what was seen in an ad released in 2021 for Russian telecom operator Megafon. They slapped Willis’s face onto Konstantin Solovyov, another actor.
Other examples of the technology can be seen in major franchises. Star Wars, for instance, made a complete digital rendering of the late Carrie Fisher to create a young Princess Leia that matched the timeline featured in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Furthermore, at his late age, James Earl Jones is allowing an AI program to replace his role despite the fact he has a permanent contract that ensures he will play Darth Vader for the rest of time.