Two of the protagonists of Rogue One. Image : Disney/Lucasfilm

Who wins: a multibillion-dollar film studio, or a YouTuber with a computer and the right tech?


In this case, it might be the YouTuber. Over on the YouTube channel derpfakes, which examines and re-dos weird CGI in films, they’ve tackled Princess Leia’s controversial appearance in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. While the princess only appears briefly, her CGI-ed youthful appearance left, for many fans, something to be desired, looking a little bit, well, uncanny.

The power of deepfakes—a relatively emerging tech that can create stunning AI-driven recreations of real people’s appearances—comes to the rescue, here, as derpfakes uses that tech to re-render Leia. The result is impressive, a bit more naturalistic than the official version.


A comparison shot from the video. Image : derpfakes , via YouTube

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this technology create movie magic before. A fan used it to fix Henry Cavill’s mustache, too. It probably won’t be long until movie studios start using it themselves.



Watch the video below, and know that The Last Jedi won’t be the last time we’ll be seeing Princess Leia. Using archival footage, she’ll be given a final farewell in Episode IX.