AI-powered trailer of Henry Cavill as James Bond gets millions of views

Millions of people have watched a new trailer featuring Henry Cavill as James Bond, but there’s one small problem — it’s an AI fake.

At the time of writing, the trailer has racked up more than 2.5 million views, no doubt fuelled by long-running fan casting of Cavill as the iconic British spy.

Cavill even auditioned to play Bond in CasinoRoyale, with director Martin Campbell saying he would have been an “excellent” fit had Daniel Craig not ultimately won the role.

The title of the video offers no indication that it’s fake, although KH Studio does note in the description that it’s a “concept trailer created solely for artistic and entertainment purposes” using various effects, including “AI technologies.” It should also be noted that fan-made trailers for movies have been around for many years, long before AI tech was readily available.

That’s to say nothing of how susceptible people already are to fake news, so it’s a slippery slope to create AI-powered videos that can further fool millions.

In February, series producer Barbara Broccoli said there’s no update on the status of the next Bond film, including who might play the lead himself.