It looks like Harrison Ford is the latest veteran actor to receive the "de-aged" treatment. While it's unconfirmed at the moment, a few set photos from Indiana Jones 5 have leaked online, and there are a few details that hint at the use of de-aging technology.

In recent years, de-aging technology has become a go-to visual effect for portraying older actors as their younger selves. Throughout cinema history, it's always been a bit of a challenge to de-age an older actor. Whether it's a flashback or a film that takes place over an extended period of time, portraying an actor in their younger years was usually done via makeup or the casting of a younger look-a-like. However, with the recent advancements in visual effects technology, filmmakers are now able to digitally de-age their actors, making them look decades younger. While this kind of technology is often quite impressive, it's definitely worked to varying effects throughout the last few decades and is not without its critics.

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Despite the criticisms, Hollywood filmmakers have continued to use de-aging technology in everything from Star Wars to Bill & Ted, and now possibly Indiana Jones 5. At first glance, these photos just look like modern-day Ford portraying one of his most famous characters alongside actor Toby Jones. H0wever, if you look closely, you might notice some dots on Ford's face. These are likely what's known as facial tracking markers, implemented by the visual effects department for motion capture. Also, based on Ford and Jones' wardrobes, this scene looks like it probably takes place sometime in the 1930s or '40s, which is the era in which the original film took place.

One of the first notable examples of a film using this revolutionary technology was the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand, where actors Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart were de-aged during the opening flashback scene. While impressive at the time, it certainly looks a bit dated now, with the actor's faces looking overly smooth and artificial. This is often a major criticism of this technology. While it's impressive and takes a lot of work, it often gives the actors a sort of uncanny valley appearance, making them stand out against the live-action backdrop, and at times making them look like video game characters who were inserted into the movie.

A more recent example of this was director Martin Scorsese's gangster epic The Irishman, which told the story of a mafia enforcer over the course of his entire adult life. To achieve this, Scorsese and his team used de-aging technology for veteran actors Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino. While the film mostly received rave reviews, some were quick to point out how strange these older actors looked with their faces smoothed out by digital technology. There was also the matter that despite the visual effects being implemented on the actor's faces, their bodies and movements were still that of older men, which was also very noticeable for some viewers, including Spider-Man actor Alfred Molina.

So perhaps the use of de-aging technology hints at some plot developments for Indiana Jones 5. Maybe something in Indy's past is coming back to haunt him? Or maybe he's been searching for an artifact for a very long time.

Indiana Jones 5 is currently scheduled to be released in theatres on July 29th, 2022.

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