Back to the Future deepfake inserts Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland
This is impressive. And disturbing.
- Best New Journalist 2019 Australian IT Journalism Awards
Robert Downey Jr. is seamless as Doc Brown.
After the events of Avengers: Endgame, we said goodbye to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's favorite professor-student pairing. But thanks to a deepfake from YouTuber EZRyderX47, Tony Stark and Peter Parker reunite for one clip only, and they play an equally iconic duo.
Thanks to the help of video manipulation technology, Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland appear as Marty McFly and Doc Brown respectively in a scene from 1985's Back to the Future. And it works. The two could play the roles one day if Hollywood gorges itself and does a remake.
Downey Jr. is popular with deepfake artists. His Iron Man has also been rejigged to be Tom Cruise.
But while movie casting swap-outs can be amusing, deepfake technology is a troubling beast. It involves forging videos to make someone appear to be doing or saying something they never did.
One of the most distressing examples is Steve Buscemi as Jennifer Lawrence. You may regret watching this.
In real life, Downey Jr. is rumored to make a cameo appearance as Tony Stark in Black Widow, and Holland will swing back into theaters as Peter Parker for another Spider-Man sequel in 2021.
