The decision to bring back Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – despite the fact that Peter Cushing, the actor who played the iconic Death Star commander in George Lucas’s original trilogy, died in 1994 – delighted fans of the franchise while understandably sparking controversy elsewhere.
But wherever you stand on the ethics of reviving a long-departed star for the purposes of a major commercial property, you have to admit it was a pretty remarkable technical feat.
Now the clever SFX wizards over at Industrial Light & Magic have revealed just how they did it via a fascinating behind the scenes clip. It briefly shows how the Oscar-nominated visual effects team mapped Cushing’s facial features onto the British actor Guy Henry using a combination of “lightstage” motion capture and CGI.
Watch the video above to see the astonishing process in action.
Published 21 Feb 2017
It’s the new technology that has hollywood’s top stars running scared, but will virtual actors ever take the place of the real thing?
Gareth Edwards opts for the slow burn over the whiz-bang in this Star Wars spin-off. The results are spectacular.
Inside the hyper-charged mind of the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director.
Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.
