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Fans of the Indiana Jones (1981) franchise are undoubtedly looking forward to the newest installment in the adventure series, set to hit theaters on June 30, 2023. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the fifth chapter in the saga starring Harrison Ford, who will reprise his role as the adventurous Professor Jones once again.
Harrison Ford is best known for his stolid masculine characters and has famously reprised another iconic role, Han Solo, for Lucasfilm’s Star Wars (1977) series. Ford has been a working actor for decades and become a household name. This summer, he will be celebrating his 81st birthday!
READ MORE: Harrison Ford Gets Emotional at D23 After Indiana Jones 5 Trailer
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
New Indiana Jones Movie Won’t Recast Ford With A Younger Actor
Variety reports that most of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will take place in 1969, but the opening of the film will occur in 1945 and depict Indiana Jones amidst a Nazi regime. Keeping in mind that Ford himself is currently 80 years old, audiences were curious how director James Mangold would choose to depict the main character almost 25 years younger.
The answer? Artificial Intelligence.
AI seems to be more and more prevalent in social discussions every day. Now artificial intelligence is helping to bring back the original Indiana Jones for the first minutes of a sequel film that comes 42 years later!
The Hollywood Reporter/Photofest
How AI and Lucasfilm Restored the Face of Indiana Jones
The de-aging of Harrison Ford’s current Indiana Jones to resurrect his portrayal in the ’80’s used real footage of the actor filmed decades ago. Artificial intelligence watched every bit of old footage Lucasfilm had of Ford, including the original Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), his Star Wars footage, and tons of unused takes and scenes that audiences have never laid eyes on.
Here’s how Harrison Ford explained the process,
They have this artificial intelligence program that can go through every foot of film that Lucasfilm owns. 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. Then I put little dots on my face and I say the words and they make [it]. It’s fantastic.
IMDb
Producers hope the AI will seamlessly drop audiences into the world of Indiana Jones. Even though seeing himself de-aged was a little “spooky” to Ford, he admits it is very believable. Ford continues, “It doesn’t make me want to be young, though. I’m glad to have earned my age.”
“It’s not the years,” Jones famously says, “It’s the milage.”
