Sebastian Stan rules as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars deepfake video
By Mia Johnson
For a while now, the world has been clamoring for one star to join the Star Wars universe: Sebastian Stan. In recent years, the actor has best been known for his role as Bucky Barnes (aka, the Winter Soldier) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And in a couple of months, he’ll be starring alongside Star Wars fan Anthony Mackie in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+.
But when it comes to Star Wars, fans have always pictured Stan as one of Star Wars’ biggest heroes: Luke Skywalker. That is, the original trilogy Luke Skywalker because of how similar the two look to one another at the same age. To help conceptualize that for all the people, on YouTube, channel Shamook (via CNET) created a deepfake video that takes Stan’s likeness and puts him directly onto Luke Skywalker’s body.
Clips in the video are taken directly from Return of the Jedi, and the creator features a handful of scenes that show off what Sebastian Stan would look like in the role. In the beginning, for example, we see what he would look like as Luke during the scene at Jabba’s palace. They also do a side-by-side comparison of both Hamill and Stan in the scene. And while it’s not a 1-to-1 match exactly, it is a stunning enough comparison to convince anyone that Stan would be the perfect actor to play a young Luke Skywalker.
See Sebastian Stan as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars clip
Check out the nearly 3-minute clip from YouTube that showcases Sebastian Stan as Luke Skywalker below. It’s worth watching the whole thing to see the variety of scenes from Return of the Jedi that the creator works their magic with.
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- Everybody who has played Luke Skywalker (other than Mark Hamill)
Just recently, the creators of Star Wars had an excellent opportunity to cast Stan as Luke Skywalker in what was an amazing cameo. In the final episode of The Mandalorian season 2, it was Luke Skywalker who arrived on the scene to come to train Baby Yoda. And instead of using a different actor to play young Luke, The Mandalorian team relied on CGI and Mark Hamill himself to play the role.
Some saw the CGI effect as reaching into the uncanny valley. But a way to easily remedy that would have been by using an actor sans VFX. And by and large, this video shows Sebastian Stan would have been their guy.
Elsewhere on the internet, another deepfake video put Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown as Princess Leia. The resemblance was astounding as well. And it just goes to show that if Star Wars would want to continue the stories of the young Skywalkers without the likeness of Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, there’s plenty of talent around.
Do you think Sebastian Stan makes a convincing Luke Skywalker? Would you like to see him cast in the role? Let us know in the comments!