A new DeepFake video has attempted to improve The Mandalorian season 2 finale. This isn’t the first DeepFake Star Wars video to be shared in recent weeks. A video from earlier this month took the de-aging from Rogue One and greatly improved the looks of the young Leia Organa and Grand Moff Tarkin. However, that movie came out 4 years ago, which is a long time when it comes to technology. Did the DeepFake actually improve The Mandalorian? There are SPOILERS for The Mandalorian season 2 below, so read ahead at your own risk.
By now, most of the world knows that Luke Skywalker returned at the end of The Mandalorian season 2. Star Wars fans were treated to a de-aged Mark Hamill, who looked a lot like he did in 1983’s Return of the Jedi. Not only was the return shocking, but many fans agree that it was really well done too. Now, popular DeepFake creator Shamook has taken a stab at trying to improve on what Disney and Lucasfilm pulled off and it looks really good.
As for whether or not the DeepFake improves The Mandalorian season 2 finale, that will be up to each viewer to decide on their own. The DeepFake does make Mark Hamill look a bit more natural than the final product, but it isn’t a night and day change that will have Star Wars fans freaking out. Hamill’s mouth movement and eyes also seem to get a little bit of an improvement, but not by a whole lot like previous DeepFake de-aging techniques we’ve seen.
The Rogue One DeepFake, also done by Shamook, gives a significant improvement that is noticed right away. The Mandalorian video is more subtle, which is more than likely a great compliment to the show and its creative team. Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman was also a movie that was greatly improved, thanks to the world of DeepFake tech. For a lot viewers, the original de-aging shown on Netflix was distracting. Some have said the same thing about Tron: Legacy, which was also recently improved by DeepFake technology.
The Mandalorian fans were more than happy to see Mark Hamill return, but there are a few who were left wondering why Disney didn’t call on an actor from one of their other franchises to take on the role and avoid de-aging. Marvel Cinematic Universe star Sebastian Stan has been the lead in fan casting a young Luke Skywalker for years now, which is something that even Hamill has recognized. Whatever the case may be, they went with Hamill and Star Wars fans seem to be, for the most part, very happy about it and are hoping it leads to some more adventures in the future. How else are we going to see how Grogu does in his Jedi training? You can check out The Mandalorian DeepFake video above, thanks to Shamook’s YouTube channel.
