Marvel's Use Of AI For 'Secret Invasion' Intro Has Fans Furious

Marvel used AI to generate the opening credits sequence for its latest TV series. In an interview with Polygon, director Ali Selim revealed that the team used a generative AI model to create the opening credit artwork for "Secret Invasion," which stars Samuel L. Jackson as the character of Nick Fury. The director said that he doesn't "really understand" how AI works, but that didn't matter much, as the generation merely required words for input. "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," Selim told Polygon.

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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

The AI artwork on "Secret Invasion" is the brainchild of Method Studios. Fans, however, aren't really happy about the move, even though the show's first episode has been received well. The biggest point of contention is that with a deep-pocket backer like Marvel behind it, why would the showrunners use AI to create a visually sub-par experience when human artists have already delivered memorable work on previous Marvel TV shows? In some of the AI-generated stills, for example, Jackson's face looks unmistakably distorted, while in others, the geometry is simply off.

Actor Stephen Ford, who played the lead role in "Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight" and also appeared in "Teen Wolf," voiced his dismay on Twitter and also called out Selim. "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," he tweeted.

Secret invasion is an instant boycott from me. No way I'm supporting Taking away jobs from artists who are already suffering in this exploitative industry. F tht. I bet some exec did it. #boycottsecretinvasion #ai https://t.co/xoGM3v3Oal pic.twitter.com/sWJ2ZHXDD0

— 💛Artemis 🖤 #RebelMoon era (@Amazon_artemis) June 21, 2023

Concept artist Jeff Simpson, who actually worked on the show for nearly half a year, tweeted that he was devastated by the decision to use AI. "I believe AI to be unethical, dangerous and designed solely to eliminate artists careers," he added. The concerns are legitimate and have been raised by creative artists in the film and TV industry as well as the gaming industry. Independent filmmaker Brian Long labeled the move as "utterly horrifying."

A lot of people will rave about how good #SecretInvasion is but, this show marks the first major invasion of AI on a major studio’s piece of work, it’s utterly horrifying to think about and this is only the start.

Think about all the amazing intros created by REAL HUMANS!!! pic.twitter.com/WLRAyR9kM5

— Brian Long (@BrianLongFilms) June 21, 2023

There are many issues at play, not the least of which is that AI models are trained using artwork without duly crediting and compensating the human artists behind them. Getty's lawsuit against Stability AI is one recent example. A few weeks ago, the Writers Guild of America staged a protest against the influx of AI tools like ChatGPT into the Hollywood brainstorming rooms, too. Multiple publications have also disclosed their usage of AI tools for generating content in the past few months. In the absence of proper AI guardrails to safeguard their jobs, artists are visibly upset over the rising tide of AI. Marvel's "Secret Invasion" only exacerbates those concerns, and in the view of concerned fans, it deserves to be boycotted.