Bruce Willis Sells Rights To Have ‘Digital Twin’ Deepfaked Into Future Projects

Update: Bruce Willis has denied that he has sold the rights to his digital image. More details here.

Last year, Hollywood star Bruce Willis made headlines when he became the first A-lister to license his deepfake image rights for advertisements. More specifically, the actor was seen to “star” in Russian commercials, speaking the language perfectly—except he doesn’t. 

Using advanced “face generation technology,” over 34 thousand units of actor were analyzed, creating a near-identical deepfake image that allowed him to appear in the comedic spot and speak the language. 

Now, Willis appears to be taking a step further into the metaverse, with The Telegraph reporting the actor officially sold the rights of his “digital twin” to Deepcake, a US-based firm specializing in deepfakes. 

Previously, the actor had only allowed his face to be “digitally transplanted onto another performer” in the commercial, whereas going forward, the company will be able to use his likeness to be “hired” for onscreen productions. 

“I liked the precision of my character. It’s a great opportunity for me to go back in time. The neural network was trained on content of Die Hard and Fifth Element, so my character is similar to the images of that time,” Willis explains on the website. 

“With the advent of the modern technology, I could communicate, work, and participate in filming, even being on another continent. It’s a brand new and interesting experience for me,” he adds. 

As Collider points out, the use of deepfakes in Hollywood isn’t new, with the technology already having been utilized in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and The Mandalorian. 

Of course, there’s the discussion of ethics when it comes to the use of artificial intelligence. 

Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security, previously cautioned that the technology could “impact public trust, provide cover and plausible deniability for criminals/abusers caught on video or audio, and will be (and are) used to manipulate, humiliate, and hurt people.” 

On the flip side, it could be used to bring stars from past eras back to life on screen; just as Willis is using it to continue his acting career even after being diagnosed with aphasia—a disorder that causes a person to have difficulty speaking or reading. 

No matter where you stand on the matter, it’s likely the sheer convenience of deepfakes will see it become a mainstay feature of Hollywood in the near future. Will more actors follow suit in contracting out their digital twins? We’ll have to wait and see. 

[via Collider and The Telegraph, cover image via Laurence Agron | Dreamstime.com]