Marvel’s latest TV show, Secret Invasion, starring Samuel L. Jackson, hit Disney+ yesterday and the studio is already facing backlash for using AI for the show’s opening credits.
Another day, another news story about the dangers of AI. It truly feels like the end is nigh, as AI gains popularity. It’s perhaps one of the biggest issues at the heart of the on-going writer’s strike and news outlets are closing left, right and centre in favour of using AI to generate generic news stories. Marvel, the superhero juggernaut, is the latest to utilise the controversial tool for its content. The studio used AI to create the moody, atmospheric but broadly common opening titles and it hasn’t gone down well. Many took to social media to criticise Marvel for using AI instead of real artists.
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The director of Secret Invasion, Ali Selim, also weighed in on the debate over at Polygon. “We would talk to them about ideas and themes and words, and then the computer would go off and do something. And then we could change it a little bit by using words, and it would change.” Star Samuel L. Jackson, in an interview with Rolling Stone, said he’s been worried about studios using his likeness for a long time. Jackson, who played Mace Windu in George Lucas’ Star Wars prequel trilogy, said he first brought it up when he got scanned for The Phantom Menace. “People just started worrying about that? I asked about that a long time ago. The first time I got scanned for George Lucas [for The Phantom Menace] I was like, ‘What’s this for?’” Jackson said. “Future actors should do what I always do when I get a contract, and it has the words ‘in perpetuity’ and ‘known and unknown’ on it: I cross that shit out,” the actor advises.
Episode 1 of Secret Invasion is now streaming on Disney+, followed by weekly episodes every Wednesday.
Another day, another news story about the dangers of AI. It truly feels like the end is nigh, as AI gains popularity. It’s perhaps one of the biggest issues at the heart of the on-going writer’s strike and news outlets are closing left, right and centre in favour of using AI to generate generic news stories. Marvel, the superhero juggernaut, is the latest to utilise the controversial tool for its content. The studio used AI to create the moody, atmospheric but broadly common opening titles and it hasn’t gone down well. Many took to social media to criticise Marvel for using AI instead of real artists.
Marvel used AI for the Secret Invasion intro. That *was* a paying job for many artists. Add this to the heap of industry-wide lost work replaced by plagiarism software, aka generative AI. Absolutely disgusting. pic.twitter.com/L2P8sCYtke
— Kelly McKernan 🏳️⚧️ (@Kelly_McKernan) June 21, 2023
So Marvel really used AI to make the intro for #SecretInvasion… it’s actually over. pic.twitter.com/pWUNOZWTqd
— Brian Long (@BrianLongFilms) June 21, 2023
Method Studios, the studio behind the opening credits for Secret Invasion released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, clarifying their stand on it. “AI is just one tool among the array of toolsets our artists used. No artists’ jobs were replaced by incorporating these new tools; instead, they complemented and assisted our creative teams,” the statement reads. The statement also clarifies that several artists, including art directors and animators, worked on the opening sequence. “No artists’ jobs were replaced by incorporating these new tools; instead, they complemented and assisted our creative teams.”Marvel/Disney have infinite money yet used AI for the Secret Invasion opening credits.
A slap in the face to literally every artist Disney has ever worked with & something that overshadows the hard work everyone did on this show. Seriously @aliselim?pic.twitter.com/xEsT6MWt1x — Stephen Ford (@StephenSeanFord) June 21, 2023
READ MORE: AI and digital face replacement | Is it about to destroy Hollywood?
The director of Secret Invasion, Ali Selim, also weighed in on the debate over at Polygon. “We would talk to them about ideas and themes and words, and then the computer would go off and do something. And then we could change it a little bit by using words, and it would change.” Star Samuel L. Jackson, in an interview with Rolling Stone, said he’s been worried about studios using his likeness for a long time. Jackson, who played Mace Windu in George Lucas’ Star Wars prequel trilogy, said he first brought it up when he got scanned for The Phantom Menace. “People just started worrying about that? I asked about that a long time ago. The first time I got scanned for George Lucas [for The Phantom Menace] I was like, ‘What’s this for?’” Jackson said. “Future actors should do what I always do when I get a contract, and it has the words ‘in perpetuity’ and ‘known and unknown’ on it: I cross that shit out,” the actor advises.
Episode 1 of Secret Invasion is now streaming on Disney+, followed by weekly episodes every Wednesday.
