Tom Hanks Raises Concerns About AI Vocal Likeness
TheWrap reports that actor Tom Hanks, who starred as Woody in Toy Story 5 at 69 years old, called it "scary" to imagine studios using decades of archival recordings to generate his voice without him. Hanks told Entertainment Weekly, "Time is undefeated," and noted, "Every word we have ever recorded in time in 'Toy Story' is on digital media somewhere, so they could put together anything they would want," per TheWrap. Both Hanks and Tim Allen told EW that an AI-generated sequel is "a scary thought," TheWrap reports. Toy Story 5 opened with $160 million domestically and $312 million globally, per TheWrap. Director Andrew Stanton said the fifth film is likely the franchise's final installment. Variety also covered Hanks' AI concerns, noting he has previously referenced his 2004 film The Polar Express as an early example of storing actor performance data in computers.
What happened
TheWrap reports that actor Tom Hanks, who starred as Woody in Toy Story 5, said it is "scary" to consider a future where studios reuse past recordings to synthesize his voice. Toy Story 5 opened with $160 million domestically and $312 million globally, per TheWrap. Director Andrew Stanton said the fifth film is likely the franchise's final installment, according to TheWrap.
Hanks' specific remarks
Hanks told Entertainment Weekly, "Time is undefeated," and said, "The question would be whether or not we could cobble together some version of me. Every word we have ever recorded in time in 'Toy Story' is on digital media somewhere, so they could put together anything they would want," per TheWrap. Both Hanks and Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear) separately told EW that an AI-generated sequel is "a scary thought," TheWrap reports. Variety also covered Hanks' concerns. Hanks is approaching 70; Allen is 73 and Joan Cusack is 63, per TheWrap.
Prior context
Variety reports that in a 2023 Adam Buxton Podcast interview, Hanks said anyone can now recreate themselves "at any age" via AI or deepfake technology, citing The Polar Express (2004) as an early case of actor data being stored in computers for future performance recreation.
Technical context
Editorial analysis: voice cloning systems today commonly reuse archival recordings to synthesize speaker likenesses, combining speaker embeddings, text-to-speech prosody models, and large speech datasets. High-quality isolated vocal tracks from a multi-decade franchise are technically well-suited to fine-tuning modern voice synthesis models. Industry controls include contract clauses, provenance tracking, and consent-driven licensing frameworks, though implementation varies across studios and talent unions.
What to watch
Editorial analysis: observers should track:
- •any studio or guild guidance on reuse of archival audio
- •contractual language in forthcoming film and voice-use agreements
- •technical advances in voice synthesis watermarking and consent-capture tooling. High-profile actor statements on synthetic media tend to accelerate calls for clearer industry standards
Scoring Rationale
The story spotlights a high-profile performer's public concern about voice cloning using archival recordings, raising consent and rights issues relevant to synthetic media practitioners. It is not a technical breakthrough, regulatory action, or studio policy change - it is a celebrity expressing a concern in a press context, placing it solidly in the minor tier.
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