Summary
TheMarvel Cinematic Universehas had its fair share of controversy over the years, but the attitudes of the returning Russo brothers towards one hot-button issue might bring a whole new difficult conversation to the House of Ideas. A quick hint: it doesn’t involve humans, at least not directly.
While theMCUreached a previously unimaginable peak withAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame,the franchise has seen major issues since. Plans to set up Kang as the next big bad in place of Thanos came to an abrupt end thanks to the controversy surrounding Jonathan Majors, and the franchise would pivot to Doctor Doom instead. It was also revealed thatthe Russo brothers would be returning to set up the franchise’s central narrativewithAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Wars.With work finished on their last project,The Electric State,the duo can now focus entirely on crafting the next big MCU projects.
While the critical reception ofThe Electric Stateproved that the Russos are best served at Marvel Studios, one key decision that the duo made on that project could be a problem for the MCU going forward. To be more specific, it could be a problem for fans and talent trying to resist the rising tide of automation in creative spaces. In a recent interview withThe Times,the Russo brothers admitted to making use of artificial intelligence during post-production onThe Electric Stateto modulate some sections of voice work, similar to the way the technology was controversially used in the recent award-season darlingThe Brutalist. Far from being sheepish about their use of the divisive technology in the film, the two doubled down on their position. “There’s a lot of finger-pointing and hyperbole because people are afraid,” Joe Russo said. “They don’t understand. But ultimately, you’ll see AI used more significantly.”
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This view of AI isn’t exactly new for the Russos, with Joe making bold claims about the AI revolution in the film space as far back as 2023. While at the time, it could have been dismissed as a cautionary statement, it’s clear now that it was a statement of intent. The filmmakers didn’t have the budget or technological constraints that are usually used to justify deploying the technology these days:The Electric Statehad a massive $320 million budget and didn’t do anything revolutionary with its visuals or modulation. With such a positive outlook on AI technology, it’s likely that the duo will see opportunities to make use of it as they create the next twoAvengersfilms.
That kind of move would likely lead to a storm of controversy that is even more disruptive than the reaction toMarvel Studios’ scant use of AI on Secret Invasionfor Disney+. With the precarious state of the MCU at present and the Russos being the great hope for the franchise, that sort of controversy could actually undermine the mandate the duo has been given at the company. It’s not like Marvel’s parent company Disney loves to ruffle feathers if they don’t have to, after all.
In addition to being a major issue in the industry as a whole, utilizing AI could also see the franchise turn sour for some of its biggest stars, with returning headlinerRobert Downey Jr having already warned Marvel Studios against using his likeness via AIand several other big names being very vocal about their distaste for the technology. It’s unclear whether Kevin Feige and others will let the Russos utilize the technology in the upcomingAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warsprojects, but if so, then the company can look forward to the conversation around AI intensifying rapidly around it.
