Hong Kong actress Joey Wong, one of the best-known faces of 1980s and 1990s Chinese-language cinema, who left the film business decades ago, has allowed an online game to use images of her younger self, and its makers have turned them into an AI-generated promotional short. Dan Tri, citing Taiwan's China Times, reports that the film recreates characters tied to her career, among them Nie Xiaoqian from A Chinese Ghost Story and the snake spirit Bai Suzhen.
The clip drew a split response. Some viewers said the AI had caught the shape of her face but not her presence, describing the eyes as flat and the expressions as stiff, and argued that what made those roles memorable was her acting rather than her looks.
Wong defended the deal, saying the point was for her side to use the technology rather than be used by it, and that she wanted to give audiences a new way to see characters they remember. Licensing the images is not a comeback: she has repeatedly said she does not plan to act again. She moved to Canada after retiring and has kept a largely private life, with only occasional television appearances; she is reported to work with acupuncture clinics in Vancouver and the United States. In past interviews she has said she never felt entirely suited to show business, and that its pressures were part of why she walked away.
Her image is closely bound to A Chinese Ghost Story, the film that made Nie Xiaoqian one of the defining screen characters of her era, which is partly why seeing an AI version of the role drew so much attention.
She is not the first veteran star in the region to rent out a younger face. Earlier this year Ng Kai-wah, born in 1964 and a familiar TVB face through the 1990s and early 2000s, licensed his youthful likeness for the lead character of an AI short film. He took no part in the shoot and said he was paid well without leaving home. Dan Tri sees this as a new way for older or retired performers to earn from their appearance or voice, while pointing out that an AI's ability to rebuild a face at any age does not make that face free to use.
The deals come as AI-assisted short dramas multiply in China, where video models let small teams skip much of the work of building sets, characters, movement and effects, and produce work far more cheaply than before. Dan Tri notes that at a September meeting China's broadcast regulator pointed to a sharp rise in AI-made short dramas and stressed that AI content must be labelled and must respect copyright and the licensing of people's likeness and voice. The article frames Wong's case as a new source of income for retired stars that also raises questions about consent, control and how far AI recreation should go.
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