Earlier this month, Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra decided to tell the world about the company’s plans to become ‘very focused’ on artificial intelligence moving forward. Specifically, that the production giant would be “using AI to produce films for theaters and television in more efficient ways, using AI primarily.”
This of course was concerning for a number of reasons. Chief among them being what such a move would mean for the people behind production.
Chris Miller, co-writer and producer for the Spider-Man “Spider-Verse” trilogy, was quick to respond to concerns this declaration would possibly impact the upcoming film.
AI In The “Spider-Verse?”
A fan tagged Sony Animation in a post on X (formally Twitter) asking them to keep generative AI away from “Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse.”
“AI robs people of their jobs & produces nothing but slop,” Nitro-Spidey posted. “We don’t want that anywhere near this film or any film for that matter. Please keep it away from the filmmaking process. Thank you.” The tweet got the attention of Miller.
“There is no generative AI in Beyond the Spider-Verse and there never will be,” Miller quickly responded. “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.”
Last year, the now-resolved strikes by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA helped raise awareness about growing problems like generative AI in the entertainment industry. Many industry professionals spoke out about how this technology puts people out of work while producing lower-quality content.
Fans advocating for creators and discouraging or boycotting studios that use it is a huge first step. Big creators like Miller, for huge franchises like “Spider-Man” refusing to use it is another massive step.
“Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse” has no set release date just yet. But we will keep you posted about updates on the project as they become available.
