That’s an important question because if the audience is pushed back by the AI actors in the film and the inevitable first scenario is created by the AI, then this whole concern will disappear. Studios care about money. All they do is chase success, and that success is measured by the cost of the product versus the money it makes.
Tom Hanks comes to the conclusion that most audiences won’t care and I believe he is (mostly) right. Currently, deep fakes are a tool that helps tell stories in ways that drive geeks out of their minds. Luke Skywalker has aged well in “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett” is a perfect example. As an extension of visual effects, audiences will embrace these tools.
Where things start to get fuzzy is when these same tools are used to bring the dead back into the roles that made them famous. You ask “Ghostbuster” fans what they think Harold Ramis’ Egon Spengler is brought back for “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and you’ll get mixed responses. Some feel it’s spooky, some say it’s a touching tribute to an old friend supported by and benefit his surviving family.
As technology continues to evolve and get better, you will see more of this happen. This is why guilds need to get solid deals before someone like Harrison Ford, for example, who gave up his same right to George Lucas nearly 50 years ago, now this could be injected into any random “Star Wars” asset in realistic ways, talking with AI-powered voice transcription without Ford joining even a single second.
