Indiana Jones 5: Harrison Ford explains “fantastic” AI de-aging

According to Harrison Ford, the Indiana Jones 5 de-aging process involves a mix of AI and old, never-before-released footage.

Next year, Harrison Ford is set to reprise his role for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, his final, swashbuckling outing as the whip-wielding hero against the backdrop of the Space Race and a emergence of Nazism.

Many fans are excited to see Ford step back into the role, though there’s been a lot of discussion surrounding the fact that for parts of the film, the younger Indiana Jones will be appearing, meaning a de-aged Ford will appear.

Specifically, the opening sequence will take place in 1944, hence the need to de-age Ford. And recently, Ford went on record to describe how the film is exactly doing that time-bending task, which actually involves a hint of reality.

Indiana Jones 5 uses Ford’s young “actual face”

Directed by James Mangold, the upcoming fifth Indiana Jones film is set to utilize new visual effects technology in order to make Harrison Ford look just like he did in the 1980s.

But while AI technology is heavily involved, it turns out his de-aged face is actually his real face, as Lucasfilm used said AI tech in order to combine decades-old footage they had of him, including footage from Star Wars as well as Indiana Jones. There was even footage used from movies featuring Ford that never made it to cinemas.

Speaking to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, the actor said: “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,” Ford continued. “Then I put little dots on my face and I say the words and they make [it]. It’s fantastic.”

Ford also recently told Empire that seeing himself de-aged was “a little spooky,” but added that “this is the first time I’ve seen it where I believe it… I don’t think I even want to know how it works, but it works. It doesn’t make me want to be young, though. I’m glad to have earned my age.”

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hits cinemas on June 30, 2023. Find out more here.