Having circulated Hollywood for over two decades as a highly-regarded script, the sci-fi action thriller Gemini Man finally becomes a reality this year courtesy of director Ang Lee, with Will Smith set to portraying an ageing assassin who finds himself targeted by a younger clone.
Rather than going down the Looper route (where Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt portrayed the same character), the plan for Gemini Man has always been to use the same actor, something that – until now – would have been extremely difficult to pull off given the level of visual effects technology available to filmmakers.
Of course, digital de-aging of actors is starting to become commonplace these days, but as Will Smith has revealed to io9, that isn’t the case with Gemini Man as the younger Smith is actually a fully digital CGI human.
“It’s not de-aging,” said Smith. “The younger character is not me. That is a 100 per cent digital character. A completely recreated character. They didn’t take my image and just stretch some of the lines. It is a completely CGI character in the same way that the lions in The Lion King are CGI characters.”
SEE ALSO: Will Smith battles his younger self in new Gemini Man trailer
Given that the younger clone is said to be present in around 400 of the movie’s scenes, let’s hope the visual effects team have managed to pull it off convincingly and avoid venturing into the Uncanny Valley.
Gemini Man is an innovative action-thriller starring Will Smith as Henry Brogan, an elite assassin, who is suddenly targeted and pursued by a mysterious young operative that seemingly can predict his every move.
Gemini Man is set for release on October 11th and stars Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, Benedict Wong, Douglas Hodge, Linda Emond and Theodora Miranne.
