Spider-Verse producer Chris Miller has set the record straight: there will "never" be any generative AI in the upcoming Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Miller's comments come after a few days of rumors and speculation, sparked mainly by comments from Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra. As reported by IndieWire, Vinciquerra said at an investor event last week that the studio would be "looking at ways to" "produce both films for theaters and television in a more efficient way, using AI primarily.”
The comments touched on an anxiety that's been floating around Hollywood in recent years that executives might begin turning to AI in place of artists. In response, one X/Twitter user published a plea to Sony Animation, asking the studio to "keep generative AI away from Beyond the Spider-Verse."
"AI robs people of their jobs & produces nothing but slop. We don’t want that anywhere near this film or any film for that matter," the post reads. "Please keep it away from the filmmaking process. Thank you."
The post picked up some traction and even found its way to Miller, producer of the entire Spider-Verse trilogy. Miller quoted the plea and made his stance clear, going so far as to call out generative AI as plagiarism.
"There is no generative AI in Beyond the Spider-Verse and there never will be," Miller wrote. "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."
There is no generative AI in Beyond the Spider-Verse and there never will be. 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. https://t.co/t4tSUWCg4u
— Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) June 1, 2024
It's worth mentioning that Miller is specifically talking about generative AI, or GAI, here, which is a category of AI used to create content like text, images, or video with software trained on existing content. As noted by The Wrap, the Spider-Verse series has used some machine-learning tools to assist its artists, rather than replacing them.
There's also been separate concerns surrounding overwork and crunch Across the Spider-Verse's animators allegedly faced in creating the trilogy's distinct, acclaimed visual style, as detailed in a Vulture report last year.
"There is no generative AI in Beyond the Spider-Verse and there never will be.
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Still, Miller's confirmation was welcome news for many fans, especially as anxieties swirl in regards to how GAI might affect the animation community in particular. Last year, IGN spoke to several in the industry who voiced their fears that the technology could cause Hollywood to devalue their work even more, in addition to worries over their art being stolen. AI was a sticking point, too, in 2023's writers' and actors' strikes.
Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is still awaiting a release date after being indefinitely delayed amid the SAG-AFTRA strike last year. It was originally set for March 29, 2024.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
