Disney has apparently been flirting with using generative AI in several of its films, though they've been hitting roadblocks in trying to implement it. A new report from the Wall St. Journal (via Gizmodo) states that Disney was experimenting with implementing generative AI for two of its upcoming films, its live-action remake of Moana, and the upcoming sci-fi sequel Tron: Ares.
In the case of Moana, Disney was reportedly toying with partnering with AI company Metaphysic to create a deepfake of the face of the film's star, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, in order to minimize his required time on set by having Johnson's cousin and longtime stunt double Tanoi Reed fill in, with Johnson's face later being grafted onto his body via AI.
The plan fell apart when Disney and Metaphysic's negotiations reached a stalemate, with Disney apparently professing concerns of information security and copyright struggles over who might maintain ownership of the AI generation content. Reed will not appear in the film, with Johnson filming the planned AI scenes himself instead.
When it comes to Tron: Ares, the plan was reportedly quite different, as the studio was apparently considering adding an entirely AI generated character into the film, named Bit. Tron: Ares centers on the idea of sentient AI beings entering the real world as soldiers in human looking physical bodies.
Disney reportedly canned this idea as well, thanks to both the ongoing copyright concerns around the technology, and the potential for negative publicity around the use of AI in the film.
Generative AI is one of the most contentious technologies of the modern day, with Disney itself previously engaging in lawsuits over the use of its copyrighted material to train the learning model algorithms that are used in generative AI.
The environmental concerns around AI and its use as a replacement for human workers are two other significant factors that have caused Disney headaches in the past when it used an AI generated credits sequence for its Secret Invasion streaming series.