Tom Hanks & Robin Wright Reunite And Are De-Aged Using AI For New Film

Image via Sony Pictures Entertainment

Iconic Hollywood duo Tom Hanks and Robin Wright are reuniting for a new film titled Here, directed by none other than their Forrest Gump collaborator, Robert Zemeckis. This time, however, de-aging technology will be used to portray the actors as their younger selves, allowing them to traverse decades within a single narrative.

Hanks, currently 67, and Wright, 58, will be digitally de-aged to appear significantly younger throughout the movie. This technique, achieved through a generative artificial intelligence tool called Metaphysic Live, essentially performs a “hyperreal faceswap” in real-time, according to the company itself. For Wright’s character, footage from her younger years (around the age of 19) will be used as reference material.

Image via Sony Pictures Entertainment

Based on Richard McGuire’s 2014 graphic novel of the same name, Here unfolds across a century, all within the confines of a single location—a home frozen in time. The camera remains steadfast, capturing the stories of those who have inhabited this space. Hanks portrays baby boomer Richard, while Wright embodies his late teenage girlfriend and eventual wife, Margaret. Through a blend of traditional makeup and digital wizardry, Hanks transitions from a teenager to an octogenarian, mirroring the passage of time.

Director Zemeckis has been known to push the boundaries of filmmaking with visual effects, as evidenced by previous works like Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the Back to the Future trilogy, reflect this. In a statement, Zemeckis said he has “tested every flavor of face replacement” and found de-aging crucial to the narrative, as the film focuses on a couple’s life journey, and wouldn’t work without a frictionless transition between their younger and older selves.

“I’ve always been attracted to technology that helps me to tell a story,” Zemeckis noted. “With Here, the film simply wouldn’t work without our actors seamlessly transforming into younger versions of themselves.”

Indeed, while early silent films hinted at similar scenes, the ambitious risk taken by Here sets it apart. The film becomes a meditation on mortality, tapping into the universal theme that everything eventually passes.

It’s worth reminding that it takes two hands to clap, and Zemeckis tells Vanity Fair the transformation works because the performances by the leading cast “are so good,” with Hanks and Wright tapping into their energy from “50 years ago or 40 years ago” and adjusting their voices to complete the picture.

[via Variety, Vanity Fair, Futurism, images via Sony Pictures Entertainment]