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Bruce Willis’ agent has denied rumors that the action star sold his image rights to a deepfake organization. In what was considered the first deal of its kind, it was widely reported Willis had sold the rights to Deepcake, allowing them to make a "digital twin" of him.
However, the actor’s representatives have since confirmed to the BBCthat he has "no partnership or agreement" with the company. "Please know that Bruce has no partnership or agreement with this Deepcake company," they said in a statement.
Deepcake also clarified that only Willis owns the rights to his own face. "What he definitely did is that he gave us his consent (and a lot of materials) to make his Digital Twin," they added.
The confusion came after Willis appeared in a commercial for a Russian mobile phone company called MegaFon. The advert featured Willis’s deepfake digital clone opposite Russian actor Azamat Musgaliev. However, it appears this may have just been a one-off collaboration instead of an ongoing deal.
"I liked the precision with which my character turned out," Willis said of the commercial on Deepcake’s website. "It’s a mini-movie in my usual action-comedy genre. For me, it is a great opportunity to go back in time."
The news about the deepfake deal comes after Willis’ family confirmed his retirement from acting earlier this year. After appearing in more than 100 movies, Willis has stepped back from the limelight following a diagnosis of aphasia, which is a disease that impacts both the expression and comprehension of language.
Deepfake is becoming a bigger part of making movies and shows, including in The Mandalorian where Mark Hamill appeared as a young Luke Skywalker. For all the latest on that show, check out our guide to The Mandalorian season 3 on Disney Plus.
