Christopher Reeve’s Children Weren’t Involved in his AI Flash Return

Movies

It didn’t take Hollywood long to start pushing the moral boundaries of artificial intelligence. In a recent interview with Variety, Christopher Reeve’s children, Will, Matthew, and Alexandra, were asked about their father’s AI-assisted appearance in The Flash. Their answer is disturbing: not only have they not seen the film, but they “did not have involvement in that cameo,” which suggests they weren’t asked for permission. If you haven’t seen The Flash, it ends with Barry looking at multiple alternate universes while in the Speed Force, one of which features an AI-recreated Christopher Reeve and Helen Slater as Superman and Supergirl. To add insult to injury, they look terrible.

When the idea of resurrecting dead actors with AI was floated, most people who were agreeable stipulated that the actors’ surviving family members should have a say in the decision since the actor obviously can’t give permission. Well, it looks like the studios aren’t going to let that basic level of decency get in their way. I assume that Warner Bros. wasn’t legally obligated to seek Reeve’s children’s approval to put his image in The Flash; they probably have rights to his likeness as Superman. But to have not included them at all is cold and ghoulish, and it should make everyone who currently stands before a movie camera nervous. I doubt movie studios have similar rights to most actors because most characters aren’t as potentially lucrative as Superman, or played by an actor as iconic in the role as Christopher Reeve was as the Man of Steel. But what about the ones who are? For example, does Disney have the rights to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine? They managed to get him back for Deadpool 3 – and I think it would be too expensive to do this for a leading role – but if they want him back for a quick cameo down the line, could they use AI to bring this Logan back if Jackman is uninterested? Disney has been looking into it for a long time. It’s creepy to think about; taking a major part could actually mean selling Hollywood your soul.