Robert Downey Jr. has made it known that he categorically refuses to be imitated by an AI. After his death, his legal department will continue to enforce this wish.
Robert Downey Jr. is an iconic actor, and one of the emblematic figures of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As proof, after having played Tony Stark/Iron Man for years, he is preparing to don the costume of Doctor Doom – a twist which will link him a little more to the entertainment empire held by Disney and Marvel, by making it ever more essential.
But what will happen in the future, when Robert Downey Jr. is no longer old enough to star in a superhero film or, worse, is no longer in this world? The use of increasingly powerful artificial intelligence could make it eternal. Disney did not hesitate to call on actor Peter Cushing to appear in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. But it's a possibility that 59-year-old Robert Downey Jr. refuses to imagine.
Robert Downey Jr. doesn't want to hear about AI
In 30 to 40 years, if the MCU still exists, Disney and Marvel could actually have some fun making to come back Robert Downey Jr., thanks to an AI which would then imitate him to perfection. The star categorically refuses this option, he said in an interview with Kara Swisher, for the podcast On with Kara Swisher, published on October 21. A shame for someone who played a billionaire spending his time developing ever more advanced technologies, who is also assisted by an AI capable of managing several things (JARVIS, who will help create Vision).
Robert Downey Jr. doesn't seem to have too many concerns at the moment. He has every confidence in Marvel and Disney. He explains on this subject: “ As far as the MCU goes, I'm not worried about them copying my character's soul because there are three or four people making the decisions, and they wouldn't do that to me whether I was there or not. »
He's so afraid of being resurrected by an AI that he's already tasked his legal department with enforcing his wishes after his death. He states: “ I am here to say that I plan to sue all future directors if this happens (…). My legal department will continue to be very active. » In short, he doesn't want to become the next James Dean.
Note that Robert Downey Jr. is not the only MCU actor to be against AI. A few months ago, Scarlett Johansson shared her anger over OpenAI and its voice assistant imitating her voice. She refused to lend hers to ChatGPT.
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