Few people appreciate being old. Luckily, Metaphysic AI [artificial intelligence], a deepfake company that edits camera footage in order to manipulate any person or object’s movements and appearances, can help with that. Actors Tom Hanks and Robin Wright will be digitally de-aged in director Robert Zemeckis’ upcoming film “Here,” an adaptation of Richard McGuire’s graphic novel under the same name. 

Zemeckis has worked with Hanks in many films before, with one popular movie being the 2004 film “Polar Express,” which is an earlier example of using brand-new technologies in cinema. Polar Express used motion capture, an animation method that mirrors computer-generated things onto actors, which made the animation so realistic that it was put into the uncanny valley (a level of incredibly realistic computer animation widely regarded as creepy). This could very well be the fate of “Here,” as the new de-ageing technologies have not yet been refined, and they could make the movie more unsettling than intended. 

“With ‘Here,’ the film simply would not work without our actors seamlessly transforming into younger versions of themselves,” Zemeckis said. 

Metaphysic, best known for its deepfake TikTok account will be lending their technology to Zemeckis for the film. Metaphysic uses their tech to de-age in real time, which will not be very useful in a film process that requires a lot of post-production editing. 

“Metaphysic’s AI tools do exactly that, they make actors younger, in ways that were previously impossible,” Zemeckis said. 

Many people argue the ethics of artificial intelligence while de-ageing seems to be one of the most harmless uses for it. With Zemeckis being one of the few directors who can afford this technology, some believe it would be best to let him experiment with Metaphysic. Others argue that the animation looks too artificial and should not be used to maintain the ‘purity’ of the film. 

“I think that it could be potentially dangerous because, if deepfakes get good enough, you could use deepfakes to give anybody a bad reputation,” Steven Rivera, sophomore, said. 

Zemeckis’ films are not as commercially successful now as they once were. His Disney “Pinocchio” remake has been ignored in favor of Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion take on the film. His Anne Hathaway-led movie, “The Witches,” is now permanently erased from HBO Max, its original streaming service. However, this digital de-ageing may be a shining ray of hope for Zemeckis’ career. 

“Having tested every flavor of face replacement and de-aging technology available today, Metaphysic are clearly the global leaders in feature-quality AI content,” Zemeckis said. 

It is speculated that Metaphysic and Zemeckis’ project could open a pathway for other directors to use de-ageing, and one day, it could even be the norm in Hollywood.