AI Arm Of ‘Dune’ Visual Effects Firm DNEG Acquires Metaphysic, Which De-Aged Tom Hanks In ‘Here’
The AI division of visual effects studio DNEG Group, Brahma, has purchased Metaphysic, a business that most recently gained notoriety for de-aging Robin Wright and Tom Hanks in the 2024 movie Here.
Through the agreement, Brahma will be able to provide additional AI solutions to businesses, intellectual property owners, and content producers in the film and other industries. As a component of a suite of solutions spanning video, image, and audio, Brahma will create fundamental AI, data, and content workflow and management capabilities.
In addition to well-known properties like Dune, the DNEG Group is renowned for their work on tentpoles including Blade Runner: 2049, Tenet, and Interstellar.
The narrative of a couple and their house over several centuries was told in this Robert Zemeckis-directed film, which mostly used AI-driven effects. Here only cost roughly $50 million, despite its wide-ranging effects that allowed Zemeckis to portray Hanks and Wright over seven decades. AI experts like Metaphysic have evangelized about the creative breakthroughs and cost savings that AI is providing. (Although it will be considered a technological milestone, Sony/TriStar’s film Here did not do well in theaters, earning less than $16 million worldwide.)
Executive Chairman Prabhu Narasimhan, DNEG Group Founder and CEO Namit Malhotra, who also acts as Brahma’s temporary CEO, and Metaphysic CEO Thomas Graham are all part of the company’s executive management team. Graham will take over as Brahma’s CEO after Metaphysic is completely incorporated into the company.
The outcome, according to Narasimhan, will be “what we believe will be the industry’s premier photorealistic AI video producer,” combining “the extraordinary capability of generative AI” with DNEG’s Academy Award-winning visual effects and animation expertise. I am thrilled to expand Brahma’s user base from a specialized group of people interested in high-end film and television production to include businesses and content producers from all sectors. We have the resources to make your story come to life more quickly, more affordably, and with greater quality if you have the creativity and a compelling tale to share.
Graham continued, “Brahma gives any company a plan for creating generative AI content, from taking control of their data to producing incredible, user-tailored AI content in the form of audio, video, and images. We can provide an operating system for generative AI content by combining the amazing teams at Brahma and Metaphysic. It begins with protecting your intellectual property and concludes with new revenue streams based on a suite of products that provide Hollywood-caliber experiences and content at a never-before-seen scale.
