Summary
- Beyond the Spider-Verse
will remain 100% generative AI free, ensuring new visual styles in studio CG films. - Despite Sony embracing AI, writer/producer Chris Miller assures fans AI will not infiltrate upcoming Marvel installment.
- Major shows like
Secret Invasion
and movies like
Late Night With the Devil
criticized for AI use in production and marketing.
While some major productions have come under fire recently for using AI in their creative process, one Marvel producer assures fans that Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will remain 100% generative AI free. The upcoming third installment in Sony’s animated Spider-Verse was originally scheduled to hit theaters earlier this year, but has been delayed indefinitely following the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023. Updates on the project have been limited following the film’s postponement, and fans are desperate to see Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), Gwen Stacey (Hailee Steinfeld), and Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson).
Chris Miller, a writer and producer for the franchise, recently responded to a fan’s question on X/Twitter regarding the use of AI in the upcoming third installment, Beyond the Spider-Verse. The fan, like many audiences who are against the technology’s use in filmmaking, asked Miller if Beyond the Spider-Verse would feature any generative AI. Miller’s response was incredibly uplifting for fans, as the writer/producer assured audiences that Beyond the Spider-Verse will feature no AI, before sharing his opinion on the software. “There is no generative AI in Beyond the Spider-Verse and there never will be,” Miller said. He then went on to slate the software, mirroring the sentiment shared by many creatives in the industry, and many more cinephiles. Miller continued:
“One of the main goals of the films is to create new visual styles that have never been seen in a studio CG film, not steal the generic plagiarized average of other artists’ work.”
Movies & TV Shows Have Been Criticized for Using AI
One of the major talking points of last year’s joint WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and one of the main reasons they were so prolonged, was the use of AI in the industry. Both creative unions wanted to ensure that AI wouldn’t be used to replace actual people, and that the technology wouldn’t take over the filmmaking process. Despite Miller being adamant that Beyond the Spider-Verse will remain AI free, sadly, Sony don’t share the same moral ideology.
George Lucas Says the Use of AI in Filmmaking Is ‘Inevitable’
Star Wars creator George Lucas believes AI in filmmaking is here to stay, and creators better get used to it if they don’t want to get left behind.
At an investor conference, Sony CEO, Tony Vinciquerra, revealed that the company is embracing AI and are “very focused” on incorporating it into their productions. He continued:
“We’ll be looking at ways to use AI to produce films for theaters and television in more efficient ways, using AI primarily.”
Recent months have seen major movies and shows criticized by audiences for using AI. The first major instance was Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion, which utilized generative AI for its opening credits. Movies like Late Night With the Devil and Civil War were also criticized for using the software in the film and marketing material. Most recently, Mad Max director George Miller has come under fire for using AI in his latest apocalyptic epic, Furiosa, to blend the faces of the two actresses playing the titular heroine (Alyla Browne and Anya Taylor-Joy) together.
