Tarkin's CG Face Wasn't Working... until

Rogue One Director Gareth Edwards explains how ILM got Peter Cushing's face to work as Grand Moff Tarkin.

[@MentalParadox]

Hearing 2016 being referred to as "back then" makes me feel a billion years old EDIT: a lot of people are posting angry comments at me, calling me "very young", and generally completely misunderstanding what I mean. What I mean is that if you're a younger Gen Z guy, then 2016 could be when you were 8 and now you're 16. That feels like a big difference, so you use words like "back then". But I'm 34 and for me 2016 feels like literally yesterday because I was 26.

[@autumn702]

2016 was only like thre- fou- no wait... EIGHT years ago??

[@Satellaview1889]

@@autumn702 Gosh I never thought time would pass this fast when I was 10 and I watched Rouge One in theaters.

[@darkamora5123]

​@autumn702 6 year old me saw ANH the Sunday after it released. My family went out to the movies every 3 weeks or so, and we looked in the paper for what was playing. I was a Star Trek fan as was my older brother and so my parents thought "Probably similar", based on the name. So off we went and I've been a fan ever since. Anyway seeing 8 years ago referred to as "back then" makes me feel like seeing the originals in theaters is tantamount to viewing the birth of the universe. "So dad, what is God's first name? I mean you two hung out way back then right? "

[@MentalParadox]

@@Satellaview1889 You're 18 right now? All I can, say is: enjoy. These are the good times.

[@autumn702]

@@Satellaview1889I've seen Rogue One, but I don't know what Rouge One is.

[@andrewglazebrook1585]

They should have included Tarkin purely as a Hologram, to help hide the problems with his look. He could have been on Coruscant and meant to be en-route to the Death Star

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

Hey, never thought of that. That's actually a great idea.

[@AaaBbb-ff1pn]

too smart for modern director/screenwriter

[@Ysckemia]

this makes SO. MUCH. SENSE.

[@GagnesterLOL]

How you are suppose to improve things without doing it... Somedays, we will not see the difference

[@KasumiRINA]

Nah, I liked the render. It's Star Wars, it always had mannequins, mattes and CG special effects. Hell Empire Strikes back hologram of Palatine was hideous in original. Cardboard mask?

[@jeffreyokun2355]

The uncanny valley happens because of the motion of the face. It moves too smooth and cgi like. Motion is one of the easiest way to spot cgi.

[@billbill6094]

Yup. Plush while stretch and squish is important to get the feeling of skin movement, not everything needs to stretch so visibly. Sometimes when people talk, you can barely see any motion at all in their face, sometimes people's lips stay in such a stoic position they would've impossible to lip read. They considered what's there when a face moves, but didn't consider what's sometimes not there and it makes it look like an animatronic.

[@FactsDontCareAboutFeelings_97]

⁠@@billbill6094agreed, to me it looks as if they made the CG Tarken express/emote too much. There’s just too much facial movement going on.

[@FactsDontCareAboutFeelings_97]

Tarkin*

[@sergeantbigmac]

Mouth movement is always the dead giveaway for me. No matter how much the tech has advanced the moment the CGI characters start speaking the illusion is broken.

[@thecianinator]

The worst part is, it's totally possible to insert wiggle key frames that mimic the randomness of real motion, the only reason they don't is because it makes it impossible to reanimate a scene. And the only reason that's a deal breaker is because it means producers can't change their mind at the last minute. If producers actually did their job and committed to an idea, this problem wouldn't exist.

[@The.Nasty.]

That’s actually really interesting, not just that the face and voice come into play for a character, but even the LIGHTING can be important to achieve the correct “look” for a specific person… Never really considered that before!

[@CarloTeofilo]

A lot of mental gymnastics but it still looks bad

[@The.Nasty.]

@@CarloTeofilo there’s really no mental gymnastics… the CGI looking bad and lighting being important to realize a “look” are two different conversations. I never said Tarkin looked great did I? 😂

[@CarloTeofilo]

@@The.Nasty. Fair 😅

[@platzhalter2581]

Plus the template actor was really bad. So it looks also uncanny because of his acting, making it overly cartoonish.

[@captaincaptain2128]

Sounds more like an excuse. Lighting really isn't THAT important for character recognition. Indiana Jones is still Indiana Jones regardless of lighting. So is Spider-Man. So is Gandalf, or Darth Vader. He just can't accept the cgi was bad.

[@AWESOMEPRO-xu4it]

Rogue One made Tarkin look like the G-Man from Half Life.

[@supermansdaddy7019]

Rise and shine, Mr. Vader...

[@kekekeke2200]

​@@supermansdaddy7019the first thing I thought of when reading the comment is that one good horror map that scared the crap out of PewDiePie with the gman

[@patriotfreedomlending4655]

This guy already has problems controlling his own hands, who thought he could fix other problems?

[@lars7282]

Rogue One made the whole Star Wars story and world look and feel like just a videogame

[@jacktoma21]

Guy Henry already looks so close to Peter Cushing, which is obviously why he was hired, they could have just aged him up and I don’t think anyone would have been upset

[@dcflake5645]

Guy Herny in a bit of make up would be the perfect double for Cushing

[@jordanmitchell380]

​@@dcflake5645 Like what they did with the actor for Dr. Loomis in Halloween Kills.

[@blakeperdue3706]

it's star wars, people would have definitely been upset 😂

[@EpicVideos2]

The reason to do this was two fold. 1) it got people talking, which is great for marketing. 2) it allowed them to practice their CGI techniques in the real world, which would prove invaluable with their later movies

[@thompsonnoel]

He looks exactly like Mark Rylance

[@jgriffin9084]

They should have kept him in the reflection. It was totally believable until he turned around.

[@LorenzoDoesntExist]

If people keep aiming for CGI characters to be obscured, when does the technology ever evolve? They tried their best for a full-on CGI supporting character, it looks off because of how used to Peter Cushing in A New Hope we are, but it's still a technical step forward. Edit: If you're thinking of arguing, just watch the full video, they discuss it in more nuance. There's no point repeating the same three arguments about how it "looks bad." Yeah, you'll get brownie points online, but it's not constructive. It's so easy to just discredit or dismiss something without context, but if you're not familiar with Gareth Edwards, even if you don't like this shot, you should learn more about how he approaches VFX.

[@professorx3060]

​@@LorenzoDoesntExist A lot of people prefer appeal rather than progress

[@moddable6921]

I hate this take because it was never going to be fully "believable", you already knew Cushing was dead and there was no way it was going to be him in the scene no matter what. So you should be grateful for what you got.

[@LorenzoDoesntExist]

@@professorx3060 Exactly. Their only understanding is that they did it on computers so anything is possible.

[@StewartFletcher]

​@@moddable6921If it was never going to be believable, they shouldn't have done it

[@ceruleanzone2041]

My Mother turned 80 in 2016. She was a huge Peter Cushing fan back in the era of Hammer and Holmes, so much that she used to send him pen and paper fan letters - and he wrote back! Though they never met, they exchanged letters once or twice a year for over 20 years. The VFX guys who worked on Rogue One got so much criticism for Tarkin, but my Mum will be grateful to them for the rest of her life. To her, those scenes were like magic because she got to see her old friend 'alive' on screen one more time. I wouldn't change that film for the world.

[@mikek9297]

Most of those "critics" talking about uncanny valley are full of shit.

[@Benjiesbeenbetter.]

​@mikek9297 Usually the uncanny valley hits me hard. I couldn't watch Puss in Boots because of the humans, but it didn't kick in here. The thing that got me was how shiny they made his face, and (very trivial point) Guy Henry forgot to pronounce the H in "when". If you listen carefully, on "You may fire when ready" Cushing did. I think he was one of the last Englishmen to do so. It's such a typically Peter Cushing thing that it stood out to me.

[@joeyc9418]

The guy doing the performance capture already looked like Tarkin, the cgi is impressive but they probably could've just had that guy play him

[@TelasiaDemetria]

It feels like movies have lost their faith in the audience's ability to suspend disbelief.

[@joeyc9418]

@TelasiaDemetria also an absurd reverence for the originals, and this movie may have started the trend of resurrecting dead actors or putting dusty old seniors in a sequel where they do gun fu on a green screen

[@jon4715]

@@TelasiaDemetriaExactly this. As a viewer, I am pleased to suspend disbelief when a movie give me reason. However, in this case, I’m disgusted by the cgi doubles of long-passed actors…it just doesn’t work philosophically or visually at all. I won’t suspend my disbelief for CGI, but I will for practical effects and actors.

[@gordonbrinkmann]

​@@jon4715 You might suspend your disbelief for real actors, but I doubt most of the toxic fans would. Like the ones who hated Alden Ehrenreich as the younger Han Solo for example... people always complain when actors are changed, when roles are not cast with their personal favourite choice etc. or like in your case when they use CGI. They cannot satisfy everybody so they just go and make their own choices.

[@MurderMostFowl]

I could see that. I would be OK with it as long as they adequately gave time/dialog for us to realize that’s who he was playing. Up until the very end of this film. I thought that it actually took place a few years before ANH so I would have given it extra grace thinking they were portraying a younger Tarkin in the first place.

[@billbill6094]

They also made him "look" old in such an exaggerated way it was like they were trying to replicate an age first then a likeness second. Tarkin was always old but all the liver spots and wrinkles were way too much.

[@aaronsibley]

honestly, Guy Henry should have just played him. i think it would be easier to get over a recast than the uncanny valley of cgi Tarkin

[@humancannonball3827]

This is how I feel exactly. Nobody watching is going to care that the actor isn’t Peter Cushing, but people like me will care a lot when they’re subjected to shoddy visual effects playing puppet with a dead man.

[@KillahMate]

The same applies to The Mandalorian. There was no need for all the CGI work, the actor was even incredibly visually close already. But Disney seems unable to trust their audience to take that tiny leap of faith.

[@jgriffin9084]

Thaaaank you

[@tylerhall9412]

I'd rather have cg tarkin still. especially because they can always do a re-release with updated CGI. 2024 cgi people look real as heck

[@jamesb.russell2942]

Yeah like -- they recast Kenobi, they recast Mon Mothma. Guy Henry would've been a fine Tarkin.

[@titans2720]

I feel like an issue with cgi is the “detail” is almost too crisp and clear, like when you see a humans face on film you don’t see all the small gritty little details on their faces unlike a cgi model which is sharp and noticeable.

[@Samsstuff10]

it just looked like a good video game character. even when you pause it it doesn't look real

[@daveyjones8969]

Thank you, I'm seeing nothing but shills here.

[@jl.7739]

Don’t blame it on the tech. Bladerunner 2049 came out a year later and Rachel (cgi Sean Young) looked amazing. They probably didn’t give the animators enough time/ budget to perfect the effects.

[@fullbodyscab]

It’s because she didn’t talk. The mouth gives it away every time

[@richardcollis5576]

Better planning

[@kenrickeason]

​@@richardcollis5576Facts! People forget that you need to have great planning to get to the perfection you want.. You nailed it.

[@jfess1911]

Tarkin's face didn't seem quite right but didn't bother me. Leia's on the other hand, did. For some reason, the re-created Leia did not look at all like the original. Is it generally considered that the Tarkin face replacement was more successful, or is it just that I look more closely at women's faces? I suspect that my once having a crush on Leia has a part in this (we were close to the same age when Star Wars came out).

[@timthompson3569]

Tarkin didn't look real, but Cushing was already such a funny-looking guy that it didn't quite register the same. Whereas Leia in Rogue One was a horrible uncanny-valley photon golem. Her eyes in particular were just awful.

[@HarmonicWave]

Tarkin's face looked overly detailed and sharp... while Leia looked the opposite, too smooth and fuzzy focus, like they used an airbrush tool too much.

[@chrismoran2063]

Leia looked like a blob, completely unbelievable. Everything about her face was "off". At least Tarkin looked proper, if not 100% believable.

[@kevinevans7507]

To me, the Leia looked like it was a choice that was halfway between SW:ANH and the cartoon Bratz doll effect.

[@Phoboskomboa]

I honestly don't see what people are talking about with Leia. Tarkin looked CGI to me, but if I hadn't known Leia wasn't a real person, I wouldn't have noticed.

[@callofdookie1253]

I wanna see them break down Godzilla 2014 and compare it to the latest Monsterverse films

[@Zygomatic_Bolt]

That's a good idea

[@nicholas.alan85]

Godzilla 2014 looks newer (VFX wise) than the new monster verse films. Hot take

[@Tvboy777]

Godzilla 2014 looks more realistic than the newer monster verse films, except maybe the Rodan volcano scene. But the action in the new movies keep getting more and more cartoonish and I think it actually hurts the cgi.

[@chyaboi11]

​@@Tvboy777Well, it's expected, considering what the monsterverse is and the kind of people Godzilla (and Kong) fight.

[@natesmodelsdoodles5403]

For maximum pain, compare all of them to the minesweeper chase in Godzilla Minus 1. That one scene had some of the best effects I've ever seen, NGL

[@Allegheny500]

When a girl friend, (not girlfriend) who is an older actress first saw this done in a theater, she told me it was not fair that a dead guy was getting better roles than she did.

[@Obie.]

1) that’s not how casting works 2) that’s main character energy and will never get her cast 2) maybe that’s her sign to give up

[@jojomang8333]

​@@Obie....or it was just a humourous observation? Calm down lmao.

[@beans4126]

@@Obie. or maybe she was just making a joke? (also you listed 2 twice)

[@Satellaview1889]

@@beans4126 Clearly he's enlightened and realized that the number 3 doesn't actually exist, and all supposed instances of it occurring are really just 4 things with one of them obscured occasionally.

[@totallylegityoutubeperson4170]

She is stunning and brave too, right?

[@PhoticSneezeOne]

They should release a remastered version of Tarkin´s scenes.

[@Tvboy777]

Special edition DLC energy. Just let art be art.

[@andyrobinson2653]

the deep fake one was actually better .

[@bigguy1164]

It's important to remember that Peter Cushing would likely be thrilled by this. The man spent decades on the silver screen pushing the envelop. He was always up for something new. In 1977 he took a chance on some dinky little space opera called Star Wars, and unlike the other veteran actor he genuinely enjoyed his experience.

[@ShockwaveFPSStudios]

Who’s the other veteran actor at the time?

[@iana6713]

@@ShockwaveFPSStudios Sir Alec Guinness.

[@ShockwaveFPSStudios]

@@iana6713 that’s what I figured

[@Hexensohn]

Don't speak for a dead man just because Disney cut you a check. Or programmed you. Whichever.

[@jamesmoniz5263]

I don't think thats important to remember. You can't just assume consent based on general vibes or because they like a genre of film. Not saying you can't think its ok to CGI people back to life, just this statement isn't how you justify it.

[@rachelsmith7925]

I really dislike CGI, but in this case,I can forgive. No one can play Tarkin but Peter Cushing.

[@jamesmoniz5263]

really funny, cause normally people say it the other way around when it comes to being salty about this. Something like "CGI is whatever, but bringing someone back to life so you can monetize their image isn't it chief"

[@imperialadvisor4880]

I thought Rogue One’s recreation, voice acting and performance of the Iconic Imperial HERO , Grand Moff Tarkin, was rather sublime.

[@FishfaceTheDestroyer]

Hero?

[@BrandonGavin_EDC]

CGI and modern techniques are so cool when used correctly. Sometimes it’s all bloat but like the New Dune 2 is used to perfection.

[@MurderMostFowl]

In fairness, it was a bit hard to tell with all that “sand and smoke fog”. I thought that was a little overdone, but I agree in general

[@chrismoran2063]

Listen. Was CGI Tarkin perfect? No. But the man died 22 YEARS prior, and yet there he IS, on screen. They did a phenomenal job.

[@Kiwizs177]

True, yet people are always complaining. While there a work around a by having Tarkin as a hologram or just being mentioned it doesn’t have the same imposing effect. The biggest starwars haters are it’s fans. I fuckin hate it when fans think they can do something because 99.9999% of the time it’ll be worse. Rouge one is my favorite SW movie and it was portrayed great for the time.

[@arch_caff]

I’d say the CGI Leia doesn’t look as good because they held on that shot of her face for way too long with completely bright lighting. Tarkin worked because he was always kept in dimly lit scenes.

[@KyrieFortune]

No, he isn't on screen, a digital rendition of his head is on screen, and it's very obvious despite the likeness. If it was a videogame or a movie completely in CGI I would understand, but he, as other characters, sticks like a sore thumb in a movie full of real actors and their real faces.

[@Lorentz_Driver]

Not really

[@jngobngo]

That's great insight with the lighting

[@likeluptid]

They sure had me fooled. I went to the theater that day, with no knowledge at all of what "Rogue One" was. I never saw any trailers or heard any news or anything at all about it. I just happened to see the words "A Star Wars Story," and I bought a ticket, wondering what kind of movie it is. I didn't know if it was a comedy spoof of Star Wars or a documentary about the making of Star Wars, or what. Eventually, I began recognizing that it must be a movie about what they kept talking about in A New Hope. Then Wilfuff Tarkin showed up on screen, and I nearly fainted. And I said it out loud, "They told Peter Cushing had cancer!" I sat through the rest of the movie, mindless, staring at the screen like I had seen a ghost. I didn't comprehend anything I saw until Darty Vader showed up. I had to go back to the theater later, after I learned about how they were able to get a dead man a role in a movie.

[@TheOutsider69]

My first instinct is to make fun of you for being so gullible but being mature is realizing how genuinely geeked I'd be if, for whatever reason, I didn't catch that it was CGI the first time I saw it and nobody else in the theater was reacting to the fact that long-dead Peter fucking Kushing just showed up in this modern ass movie...

[@likeluptid]

@@TheOutsider69 Your first instinct is to act like an immature kid, and you didn't mind admitting that?

[@user-ub4pq9ci2r]

@@likeluptidwell it takes some humility to admit it,

[@tedbragg74]

Wayne Pygram did fantastic as Tarkin in voice, inflection and body language. It’s hard to not hear Scorpius talking, tho 😅

[@totallylegityoutubeperson4170]

Pretty please with a cherry on top.

[@dalecooper2232]

Pretty please!!!

[@neatwheat]

Maybe it's really that the subtle flexing of the muscpes around the mouth and the eyes are very hard to emmulate 😮

[@davidholguin2532]

As a Movie Fanatic this is hands down still one of the coolest moments ive ever experienced sitting in a movie theater. (Thats why they went ahead and did it)

[@patricklagerberg4387]

It was clearly cgi, but it wasn’t as bad as everyone says

[@barnabasbaack1237]

Everything in the prequels was very clearly cgi but it doesn’t matter because when the writing is good and the story is interesting realism isn’t as important

[@Morris_Minor]

It was bad

[@jackdoolittle165]

​@Morris_Minor honestly for the first real use of that tech it looks really good. Granted any number of AI models would wipe the floor with it now, but at the time this was revolutionary

[@mrb2349]

​@@Morris_Minor it was photorealistic, the animation was a bit off.

[@LCFC81]

​@@barnabasbaack1237 so realism was super important for the prequels then.

[@CrystalShannon713]

I dont know i think that unless thsy had the actor's permission to do this (like Mark Hamill for young Luke) they should just recast the role and fans would get it.

[@Potrimpo]

I still like the fact they already had a mould of Peter Cushing's face from the movie, Top Secret! (1984) as a template for the CG Tarkin.

[@michaelutt4035]

Honestly I think they did pretty good even though you can tell it was CGI.

[@Felttipfuzzywuzzyflyguy]

With the tech they had, they did their absolute best and they should still be commended for it.

[@efingsandals]

Nah

[@normietwiceremoved]

I just think a recast is best.

[@tbgtabias]

na CG is fire when they actually spend the money to do it. like Luke in mando s2 was just bad but Leia and Tarkin in Rogue one was fire

[@RayvenTheNight]

The family actually helped with it to make sure they got the facial expressions right

[@markcrenshaw9562]

It was a ground breaking achievement and it still has a long way to be perfect.

[@EpicAdrian3D]

I think it totally stands up no matter what people say. The performance is there, the voice is spot on, and i love it

[@GigachadiusMaximusCaesar]

Shouldve just haired and makeupd the guy acting the emulation

[@WARTV-dn5fk]

When I saw it at the cinema, my immediate reaction was they should have kept his entire performance in the reflection 😳

[@syaoranli7869]

Here before the ep even dropped 😂

[@matthewpollock9685]

I'm sorry, but at no point did any of us say, "Ah, that's Tarkin." That was a deep blemish in an otherwise decent film.

[@hilaryc8648]

“A New Hope”. God give me strength.

[@schaeferschaefer2624]

You don’t get Tarkin, Tarkin gets you.

[@dennisjansson6239]

We got Peter Cushing, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill & Harrison Ford done in motion capture. I wonder if Christopher Lee is gonna get the same treatment when doing new scenes with Dooku in future Star Wars projects. Would love that. 💙

[@danielmahon2432]

The best Star Wars Film Disney has attempted, even Lucas had kind words for the director after watching it.

[@augustjschroeder]

I like how the actor they hired to play him looks EXACTLY like Tarkin. They could've probably just put him in makeup

[@gerdvonbadhoven6240]

I was very surprised in a positive way. I was ten years old as I saw "The new hope" and to see Moff Tarkin again after all those years was awesome to me!!!!

[@satriaeerlangga]

I prefer recast all day

[@_theoriginalb4handles_Genflag]

And it still looked like a crappy uncanny valley CGI puppet. Also, he was asked how he felt about animating the corpse of Peter Cushing, and he ignored it completely.

[@btn237]

To be fair, the short edited clip you saw didn’t have him answering the question, doesn’t mean it wasn’t answered in the 4 hour long original interview?

[@_theoriginalb4handles_Genflag]

@@btn237 that is true, but all I have to do on is the clip. So he either didn't answer, as was presented, or he did and they didn't want to show his answer for some reason even though they used the question in the clip.

[@averagemug_music]

There's a character named John Smith in the show called The Man In The High Castle. I think he would be perfect for being casted as Moff Tarkin, maybe a younger version though.

[@marcus_ohreallyus]

An example of how fast technology is moving. Gareth says "Back then", like it was decades ago -- but this movie is actually quite recent.

[@comebackguy8892]

It's always so sad when youtubers go power hungry and betray their fans and platform.

[@TheKrazyguy75]

?

[@MrDwightSchrute]

lol

[@comebackguy8892]

@@TheKrazyguy75 They didn't include this in their video, and instead forced their viewers to pay extra to see it on their website. This is a bit bigger than merely "extended".

[@TheRealMirCat]

Gimme gimme gimme!!!

[@TheKrazyguy75]

@@comebackguy8892 I don't see that as betraying their platform. Hell, it's basically what every twitch channel does these days; they use their youtube as marketing to get viewers on the platform they actually make money on. Without money, they couldn't release ANY videos.

[@mikemarx9360]

Bro acting like cg isn't just... Not very good. It’s good, but not as good as it should've been. Not headsets and not lighting. Its materials and animation overall

[@beigefedora9716]

i know its not perfect, but his little evil smirk at the end really sells it well

[@skeetermcswagger0U812]

You've ever noticed if you block off one side of a face in a mirror or on a picture it looks completely different that than the other side of the face almost like it is a different person?

[@Oechsey]

Tarkin still didn't work

[@emanuelvela6097]

Man, I remember being unaware it was CGI back when this film came out. Now it’s as clear as night and day.

[@gazzer2kuk]

It actually looked more realistic watching it in 3D at the cinema

[@RatFiendHD]

Skeeter Jean just seems like such a cool sociable funny person to be around, always bringing the humor out of any bad situation

[@HyraxusPrimus]

Even if it's slightly uncanny valley, I think it works for Tarkin. The guy's soulless and evil enough to unilaterally order the destruction of an entire planet, and that's something that gave even Darth Vader pause. He's probably the 2nd most villainous Star Wars character behind Palpatine himself (film wise).

[@megatron8449]

Well, barring legends & current EU, but yeah

[@HyraxusPrimus]

@@megatron8449 Legends wouldn't be hard with the Yuuzhan Vong around. They make Sidious look downright cuddly. Canon makes Tarkin look even more evil, since he was made a cold authoritarian even in the Clone Wars. I'm struggling to think of anyone else who would be a contender.

[@IRMentat]

it reminded me of "the mummy" 1st one with the face in the sand, the bones and movements were too wobbly/mobile, the flesh was sunken and "look" drawn out despite the character supposed to be the same age (if not a little younger with less worries). it was impressive until it wasn't as it was just unreal enough to trigger the uncanny valley response.

[@vardellsfolly5200]

That word, "until" insinuates that it did not work before, and it did afterwards.. The cgi was a monstrosity...

[@ninebrassmonkeys]

What full episode is this from? The thumbnail says full episode below, but… I can't find it, Am I being thick?

[@protector_of_the_realms]

Imo they should have only shown him in shadows and reflections. Maybe hologram if you had to have him face a character too, but that would’ve created a much more ominous feeling that would’ve really worked whilst saving money and avoiding all the problems

[@remipennel121]

I remember the first time I watched this movie, I didn't even realize it was CGI, it wasn't until my friend told me when I re-watched it with him that I realized it wasn't the original actor (which makes sense now that I think about it, A New Hope was AGES ago).

[@TheRafaelRamos]

Also, the difference in the cameras is something to take in consideration. Older cameras have that grainy look that make the lightning look more "real".

[@shadowtrooper262]

Okay hear me out, CGI Grand Moff Tarkin looked 96% convincing.

[@ProbablyOkay]

The actors they cast to paint over always look perfect to just play the roles themselves. I’m not a baby, I can handle a recast.

[@thegoodgeneral]

The biggest flaw of this Tarkin is that he doesn’t aspirate the “wh” in “you may fire *when* ready.”

[@outregis]

people trying to come up with solutions to "fix" it, reality is this is the best outcome as is. We've got the character looking practically the same, and the CGI reminds us that the actual actor had also passed away, and this is a pay homage to how iconic of a role he played.

[@notwhoyouthink593]

Rogue One made me believe that Tarkin was from the Christmas Carol Planet

[@Abelhawk]

The most uncanny aspect was when he blinked.

[@The_Wonders_of_Engineering]

The actor already looked enough like Peter Cushing that they didn't even need cgi

[@Roach_Dogg_JR]

Part of the problem is taking looked like a cartoon character even in the originals. Very unique face shape perfectly suited to play a cold intimidating officer

[@ChristophBrinkmann]

NGL, when I first saw Rogue One I thought they'd found an actor who looked liked Cushing to play Tarkin.

[@adamb89]

"You may fire when ready." "Aw sweet, thanks! OK then, I'll catch you guys next week, I'm going to Atlantic City." "Wait wh-" "Bye!"

[@MrTekillaDrunk]

RIP Mr.Cushing...Hammer Movies Legend

[@BaltimoreNishNosh]

I was literally thinking that should have had you edit the footage of princess Leia!

[@josephinman3037]

I like what Peter Jackson did on Lord of the Rings, they used miniatures and comparisons to make sure they didn't lose the complete immersive realism. Tarkin was a "settle" situation

[@cartoonmark75]

They should’ve used that actor wearing the CG helmet. He looks just like Tarkin.

[@epicgamesforyou3615]

No matter how hard they tried tarkin always had those dead fish eyes. It’s something that goes back to the polar express, there doesn’t seem to be any escaping it.

[@iwatchstuff6786]

Right after adjusting the lighting, if he didn't say, "now we're Tarkin!" I'm gonna be so disappointed.

[@L33tSkE3t]

I think Wren asked a very different question than what he answered

[@ZenGlenn]

Time & budget are definitely key, along with lighting & particular action nuances... A unique example is in 'The Flash', the CGI finale with superhero characters of 80s & 90s Superman were fairly solid; they were a sincerely CGI, but a strong effort that played quite well in the high contrast, brightly lit sci-fi world backdrop🎬.

[@DarthTamarus]

I don’t think the CGI in this scene is that bad. Yeah it’s not perfect but it’s not bad enough to be distracting. Major respect to Peter Cushing for his iconic portrayal of this character. RIP

[@user-np4ev3cd5g]

Honestly he looks great

[@DanFlashes99]

sure, if looking like a PS4 character is "great"

[@LeGrizzly66]

Way better than Leia at the end, but everyone gets stuck on Tarkin for some reason.

[@brian0057]

Unironically, I'll take recasting the character over this digital necromancy any day. Make recasting great again.

[@TheViper4Life]

It's going to be both exciting and kinda horrifying the moment that CGI like this gets so good that we can't tell it's CGI.

[@wa1w511]

The only way I knew it was CGI for Tarkin was the fact that I knew the great vampire hunter had already passed.....great CGI.

[@Arum638]

James Bond can get played by 7 different actors but a side character with 9 minutes total screen time requires thousands of man hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars to replicate a decades dead actor. MaKeS SeNsE To mE!

[@aaronwoodcock4715]

My mom was baffled when she saw Tarkin in Rogue One.

[@HowTo-kr5bx]

When I saw Rogue One in the theater I was absolutely blown away, I didn't know Tarkin was supposed to be in the movie, and when I first saw him on screen I couldn't believe what I was watching. I thought it looked amazing then and I still think it looks amazing. I laugh when everyone says how bad it is. So, I did a little experiment. I showed one of the scenes where Tarkin was with a couple other actors to a few people who are not Star Wars fans, and who don't know who Peter Cushing is. I would pause the scene and ask them do you see anything odd? People would say no, then I'd point out that person there, that's a fake character, that's CGI. Every action was basically the same, that's amazing, it looks so real, etc. The only reason why anyone says anything negative is because everyone's always got to point out something negative, and of course everyone's an expert.

[@ThislsaGoodldea]

This is a minute and a half of my life I’ll never get back

[@arch_caff]

The actor already fit the bill perfectly both in appearance and voice. They could’ve just given him some prosthetics or make-up and it would’ve looked great!

[@jacksonreid7946]

Grand Moff Tarbin was my particular favourite and it would be sinister not to mention his willies tubular dubular floppery in the scene when Rudolph's drone 360's into Steve urwins haunted stingray barb and causes multiple caniptions in his caription Egyptian joint. This is of great importance as Queen nebulas booby smiles upon us all 🎉🎉🎉

[@sebastianmaharg]

The most glaring error was making Tarkin inexplicably a foot taller in Rouge One.

[@bigplanett]

I'd be less worried about the lighting and more worried he looks like a cartoon. 😂

[@jellymop]

Tarkin will always be more intimating that Thrawn for me. Especially with the books and the new Ahsoka television series taken into account.

[@MasterJediDude]

Gareth is spot-on in this analysis.

[@monfe5532]

He looked more alien than the actual aliens