The main figures of the Star Wars saga are now digitally scanned "when needed"…
It's been an ethical question for a while, but it's likely to take on a new dimension in the coming years: can we digitally revive deceased actors and actresses? Rogue One – A Star Wars Story had already thrown a hell of a stone into the pond regarding this subject. But today we learn that Lucasfilm has digitally cloned all its main actors, in case we need them.
My face and body were scanned. Who tells us that at some point they will not use it like this:
"Let's make another movie with Donald! He's been dead for fifteen years, but you can do whatever you want with him."
So said Donald Glover, the new Lando Calrissian that we will be able to discover in Solo – A Star Wars Story. Words heavy with meaning that suggest his fear of being used excessively in possible other productions.
It must be said that this digital debate is perplexing. Andrew Niccol already told us about it in 2002 in his anticipation film S1m0ne. Certainly, Rogue One has revived the legendary Moff Tarkin and the young Princess Leia (with more or less success it must be admitted …). But how far could this lead? Ben Morris, head of special effects on Star Wars 8 – The Last Jedi, has himself confirmed that all the main actors of Star Wars have been copied digitally, in order to hypothetically make them reprise their role in future films:
"We always digitally scan the main actors of the film. We do not know if we will need it. And it's not just to keep them in our archives. It is to use it as references for later use."
However, Stephen Alpin, head of the digital special effects team on Star Wars 8, was keen to be more reassuring about the use of these scans. Indeed, he explains that when traditional digital special effects are no longer enough, it is sometimes cleaner (and cheaper) to use these digital copies. This was particularly the case with Carrie Fisher, not because of her death but because of her physical condition not allowing her to do everything on set:
« We had to pay attention to Carrie. She could not be near pyrotechnic effects. So we shot several shots and added a lot of digital on top of that. When she is ejected from the ship, she is a digital Leia. When you get closer, it's totally Carrie. And when it flies through the debris, it was a mix. Carrie wasn't hanging from cables. Stuntmen served as a reference to add it digitally afterwards."
Anyway, we already know that Carrie Fisher will not be digitally recreated for episode 9, which implies either a death of Leia between the two episodes, or a replacement of the actress (since rumors about Meryl Streep are still running).
Digital actors offer an absolutely infinite new artistic potential, just as it raises particularly complex ethical and moral questions. It remains to be seen if Star Wars will pose as a pioneer of the genre in terms of performance capture, or if these digital doubles will only be used for specific scenes. Time will tell!
