Which of These Digitally De-aged Stars Look Best?
In the first scene of this weekend’s latest Marvel adventure Ant-Man, we are greeted with a blast from the past: Michael Douglas, as he looked back in 1989, not long after he won an Oscar for Wall Street. But it’s not old footage on the big screen; instead, Marvel’s digital artists were able to utilize a technology called “digital equivalence” to make the actor look 25 years younger.
The technology has long been a holy grail for visual effects artists, and while it’s still not perfect — Douglas looks a little bit distorted to the discerning eye — it’s come a long way in the last few years. In the video above, we take a look at the last half-decade or so of attempts to make actors look younger onscreen, from Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Jeff Bridges in Tron: Legacy to Sirs Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in X-Men: The Last Stand. See who gets that youthful glow — and whose baby faces need more work.
