Star Trek: Nemesis Deepfake Recasts Patrick Stewart as Picard's Clone Shinzon

The last time Star Trek fans saw Capt. Jean-Luc Picard was in the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis. In that film, Picard encountered Shinzon, his clone that the Romulans had bred and then discarded on the planet Remus, where he lived in slavery alongside the Remans. In Nemesis, Shinzon, played by Tom Hardy, leads the Remans in a coup of the Romulan Senate. He then lures Picard to Romulus to meet face to face. The YouTube channel Deep Homage imagines what that meeting could have looked like if Patrick Stewart played both roles.

Hardy is almost 40 years younger than Stewart, and was in his 20s at the time Nemesis was filmed. Replacing him with Stewart alters their meeting thematically as it is no longer Picard’s younger self that is looking back at him. Of course, Deepfake technology can only go so far. Stewart’s face appears fuzzy in much of the scene, and there’s no mistaking Hardy’s voice coming from him, not to mention how strange it is to see the distinguished British actor in Shinzhon’s ostentatious outfit. Take a look above.

This same YouTube channel previously created an homage for Star Trek: Discovery. That video replaced Ethan Peck face with Leonard Nimoy's on Discovery's young Mr. Spock.

Fans will catch up with Picard two decades after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis in the upcoming CBS All Access series Star Trek: Picard. The first trailer for Star Trek: Picard released at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. The show sees Picard assembling a crew for a mission to protect a mysterious young woman named Dahj (Isa Briones) who shares a connection with him. The ship's crew includes cast members Santiago Cabrera (Cristobal “Chris” Rios), Michelle Hurd (Raffi Musiker), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Harry Treadaway (Narek) and Evan Evagora (Elnor).

The trailer also reveals that some familiar faces, both friend and foe, will return in the new series. Brent Spiner reprises his role as Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Star Trek: Voyager’s Jeri Ryan returns as Seven of Nine. The Borg will also play a role in the series. Also, while not featured in the trailer, Comic-Con confirmed the returns of Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker and Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi.

What do you think of Patrick Stewart being deepfaked into the role of Shinzon in Star Trek: Nemesis? Let us know in the comments.

Source: comicbook.com