ET Canada has learned that recent reports stating that Bruce Willis had sold his rights to Deepcake — a new deal that would allow the actor to continue appearing in films thanks to his “digital twin” — are false.
The actors’ team has since dismissed that any agreement as such was made. A representative for Willis told The Hollywood Reporter that the actor “has no partnership or agreement with this Deepcake company.”
Additionally, a publicist for Deepcake confirmed that the recently-trending headlines are not true, stating that Willis’ digital-likeness rights cannot be sold since they belong to the actor by default.
The company’s involvement with Willis was initially set up by his reps at CAA. The spokesperson explained that Deepcake — an AI-powered content optimization web platform — created Willis’ realistic digital twin, by using images of the actor, strictly for a commercial for Russian telecoms giant MegaFon in August 2021. Any future use of the likeness would be Willis’ call.
Confusion surrounding future appearances of Willis’ digital doppelgänger seemingly stemmed from Deepcake’s website which features quotes from Willis, attributed to his previous ad campaign for the mobile phone carrier.
Earlier, it was reported that Deepcake’s engineers can supposedly recreate Willis in projects with his digital twin in a matter of three-to-five days, but his estate has the final sign-off on any projects.
“I liked the precision with which my character turned out. It’s a mini-movie in my usual action-comedy genre,” the actor shared on the company’s website.
“For me, it is a great opportunity to go back in time. With the advent of modern technology, even when I was on another continent, I was able to communicate, work and participate in the filming,” he continued. “It’s a very new and interesting experience, and I thank our entire team.”
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This isn’t the first time an actor has had their likeness recreated digitally, with Deepcake technology used to portray younger versions of cast members in the Star Wars franchise.
The news comes after Willis announced his retirement in March. At the time, the actor revealed he had been struggling with the brain disorder aphasia, which affects language cognition and comprehension.
While Willis is done with acting for now, he still has three projects filmed prior to his retirement set for release.
