Or is it Derpfakes? Not entirely clear on that one, but either way, this video via io9 does a very convincing job of showing just how fast technology can move by comparing the work done on 2016’s Rogue One, which presumably cost many thousands of dollars, to a program called Deepfakes which is ‘a relatively emerging tech that can create stunning AI-driven recreations of real people’s appearances‘.

To these old eyes, the Deepfakes version is superior, which surely opens the doors for future instalments of the saga featuring characters who appear faithful to their original counterparts.

How long before a Grand Moff Tarkin level of CG character interaction that doesn’t evoke the uncanny valley. It was the acting skills of Guy Henry, married to exemplary work from ILM that gave life to the character of Tarkin in Rogue One, but as technology continues to evolve and improve, it won’t be long before the technical limitations of facial replacement become less and less (as well as the cost) and the characters as we know them best from all trilogies are able to return as we remember them, powered by real actors and directors making decisions on set.