The creators of South Park have never been known for steering clear of subjects that could lead to controversy, and it seems a canceled movie centering on Donald Trump was to be no exception. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have shared details of the project that they were set to work on just days before the first Covid shutdowns. Having not made a feature film since Team America: World Police in 2004, the movie, which would have made use of "deepfake" technology, would have been a welcome return to theaters for the duo.
The pair spoke about the project to the Los Angeles Times, and what they called “Deep Fake: The Movie,” would have certainly caught the attention of its subject had it gone ahead. Parker explained:
"Not a lot of people know that we were a day away from starting production on the first feature movie we had done since Team America: World Police. We were going to start shooting on the day that the pandemic shut everything down. It was months and months of getting ready for that movie, to just being like, 'Nope, it's over.' I went to the office to start packing up my things because I was just kind of in shock. There was a few weeks of just depression, and then I just got happy 'cause I'm like, 'I'm just gonna hang out with my daughter and watch Harry Potter and build Legos. And then Matt said, 'Let's go remote.'"
Parker and Stone’s Deepfake Movie May Now Never Be Made
While there are a number of productions that were closed down in 2020 that have since gone back into production, Parker and Stone are aware that sometimes there are projects that are suited to a specific release window and if that window passes then it usually won’t have the impact many hope for. It seems that due to its subject, the deepfake movie was one such project. Parker continued:
"It was very timely and the timeliness of it has passed. We'd have to majorly rethink it to do it now. It was going to be 'Deep Fake: The Movie.' It was about this guy who looked exactly like Trump because we deep fake Trump's face onto him. And it was this whole funny thing because, of course, it ends up with Trump just naked and getting run through the wringer and everything, and that's why it was so funny and so timely."
Of course the pair still have plenty to keep them busy right now. Having recently signed a huge new contract to continue creating South Park content, including new movies that will stream on Paramount+, they are probably not going to lose too much sleep about the missed opportunity. As they noted, it is unlikely that the opportunity will present itself again to do exactly what they intended, but don’t necessarily expect them to completely let go of the Deep Fake idea as it could well surface again in future with a different face involved.