Turning Back the Clock when Reprising Legacy Roles
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The legendary Harrison Ford, on the verge of age 81, has returned to the fedora and whip of Indiana Jones for the fifth and final time, with Dial of Destiny having released in cinemas worldwide last week. Harrison Ford’s first outing as Indy was a full 42 years ago with Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981. Ford has precedent in reprising legendary roles, returning in 2015 to play Han Solo in Star Wars after 32 years, and in 2017, he came back as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2049 after 35 years. What brings acting veterans back to their iconic roles after all these years?
Associate Professor Ben McCann, who specialises in French cinema at the University of Adelaide, spoke with 2SER’s Jono Chang to explain more, and about the emerging digital de-aging technology to allow aging actors to play their younger selves when they were in their prime.