Harrison Ford will be digitally de-aged for the upcoming Indiana Jones 5 flick, with the actor admitting it was ‘spooky’ to see himself looking young again.
Fans might be aware that Indy movies are partial to a big, attention-grabbing opening - who could forget that giant boulder chasing the archaeologist in Raiders of the Lost Ark?
And when tasked with taking on the fifth movie in the franchise, director James Mangold told Empire that he was keen to do something a bit special - and he’s done so, with the help of CGI.
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He said: “I wanted the chance to dive into this kind of full-on George [Lucas] and Steven [Spielberg] old picture and give the audience an adrenaline blast.”
Marigold went on to explain that thanks to some computer imagery, fans will see Indy revert back to his younger years - kicking off with him in a castle in 1944 before we fast-forward to the 1960s.
“And then we fall out, and you find yourself in 1969,” Mangold explained.
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“So that the audience doesn’t experience the change between the ‘40s and ‘60s as an intellectual conceit, but literally experiences the buccaneering spirit of those early days… and then the beginning of now.”
The movie used several techniques to perfect the de-ageing, including new software that uses old Ford footage and matches it to newly-filmed stuff.
Producer Kathleen Kennedy said that although the tech is very impressive, she hopes it will take people back in time.
She told Empire: “My hope is that, although it will be talked about in terms of technology, you just watch it and go, ‘Oh my God, they just found footage. This was a thing they shot 40 years ago’.
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“We’re dropping you into an adventure, something Indy is looking for, and instantly you have that feeling, ‘I’m in an Indiana Jones movie'."
Meanwhile, seeing himself go back in time on the screen was a bit of an odd experience for Ford, but he was full of praise for the technology.
He said: “This is the first time I’ve seen it where I believe it.
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“It’s a little spooky. I don’t think I even want to know how it works, but it works.”
But seeing himself young hasn’t got him yearning to turn back the years - he added: “[It] doesn’t make me want to be young, though. I’m glad to have earned my age.”
Indiana Jones 5 lands in cinemas in June next year.
Claire Reid