Los Angeles (AFP)

A YouTuber famous for his videos using a digital special-effect technology called "deepfake" and based on famous movies or series has been hired by the production company Lucasfilm after wowing the bosses with his work on "Star Wars".

Known as "Shamook", he owes his digital fame to the use of cutting-edge technology to virtually replicate celebrity faces on the bodies of other actors.

This ace of "deepfake" notably stuck the face of Robert Pattinson on the body of Christian Bale in "Batman", or that of a young Mel Gibson on Tom Hardy in "Mad Max: Fury Road".

But it was his work on a scene in the second season of "The Mandalorian" that seems to have convinced Disney-owned Lucasfilm.

The television series derived from the universe "Star Wars", which takes place five years after the film "Return of the Jedi" released in 1983, concludes with the surprise appearance of Mark Hamill, rejuvenated to play again a young Luke Skywalker.

Shamook had produced an amateur version of this scene, judged by many Internet users to be even better than the original broadcast on Disney +.

Lucasfilm's special effects company "Industrial Light and Magic" (ILM) is "always on the lookout for talented artists and has indeed hired the artist who calls himself + Shamook + on the internet," a door-holder said. word in a press release sent to AFP.

"Over the past few years, ILM has invested in machine learning and artificial intelligence as a means of producing compelling special effects, and it's amazing to see the momentum build as the technology advances."

Shamook himself announced the news to his 90,000 subscribers on social networks.

Disney is working on a dozen new series inspired by "Star Wars", encouraged by the success of "The Mandalorian" which, in addition to collecting 24 Emmy nominations, introduced the world to the adorable baby Yoda, a new fan favorite. .

Several "Star Wars" films are also in the works, including "Rogue Squadron" which will be directed by Patty Jenkins ("Wonder Woman"), and another written by Taika Waititi, director of "Jojo Rabbit".

Although similar technology is increasingly popular in Hollywood, "deepfake" is also associated with the dissemination of false information on the internet.

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