It was Star Wars Day on Monday and, as I sat watching the second season of Andor on Disney+, I felt numb. I don’t just like Star Wars, I love it. I’ve always loved it. But this was a May 4th I’d rather forget.
The previous evening, I’d watched an Instagram Reel released by Evangeline Lilly (embedded below) who played Wasp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
She commented on last month’s news that Disney had laid off 1,000 employees in a move that, according to Variety, CEO Josh D’Amaro said would “streamline” operations.
But Lilly, who had consulted friend and affected Disney employee, Andy Park, alleged that “the people who invented these characters in the first place, who designed them in the first place are now being replaced by AI.”
Now, let me be clear here. Disney has not attributed the layoffs to AI and in the video’s description, Lilly states: “***I can not confirm or deny that the motive for these layoffs was AI replacement.”
But it’s not exactly surprising that artificial intelligence has emerged as a keen subject of interest. This Guardian article highlights how Marvel Studios has come under the microscope for its treatment of creatives in the past.
And let’s not forget when Industrial Light & Magic revealed the horrendously tactless Star Wars Field Guide during a TED Talk this time last year.
A frankly embarrassing selection of clips of ‘alien creatures’ or what I consider to be an AI-generated mess of various animals spliced together to create a line-up of creatures that has more in common with a cabinet of curiosities than a galaxy far, far away…
You might be wondering what all this has to do with photography and videography. Well, everything. All creative industries are intrinsically linked and, should companies decide that artists are expendable, photographers and videographers (and journalists) should be very worried, too. I know I am.
Again, we don’t know exactly why Disney has downsized so rapidly – but I would like to remind Josh D’Amaro of a very troublesome period in Disney’s history.
Dubbed Disney’s Dark Age, the Seventies and Eighties weren’t kind to the House of Mouse. Various factors contributed to a decline in feature-length quality, most notably a loss of leadership due to Walt’s death, and the adoption of a faster and cheaper method of animation.
With an overreliance on live-action remakes and the directionless cash cows that both Marvel Studios and Star Wars have become, it’s hard not to feel like Disney is experiencing another creative slump. Getting rid of human creatives is not the answer.
This week my colleague, Alan Palazon, reported that Instagram is testing the ability for AI content accounts to label themselves as an “AI creator,” along with his opinion: “I think the platform needs to enforce it.” I couldn’t agree more.
And it’s not just the presence of unlabelled AI-generated content that’s a problem; the presence of genAI is affecting how people see photography, videography, art, CGI et al. Time and again I’m seeing photographs and other creative works being accused of being AI generated, when they’re genuine.
I’m not delusional. I know that AI is here to stay and I think it has the ability to bolster and embolden creatives. But genAI should never be considered as an alternative.
Huge creative companies like Disney pave the way – everyone else follows suit. I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that the future of the West’s creative industry is – to a large degree – in Mickey Mouse’s gloved hands.
On the other hand, Jim Lee, CCO of DC Comics, spoke at New York Comic Con 2025, where he stated: “DC Comics will not support AI-generated storytelling or art. Not now, not ever, as long as Anne DePies and I are in charge.”
Disney, I have no interest in AI-generated slop. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Creatives, assemble!
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Want to hear more of my ramblings on AI? I think restoring this iconic photo with AI is heresy and sets a dangerous precedent. I'm also certain that in this new world of AI, photography will live and die by how transparent we photographers choose to be about the images we create. And for something a little lighter: Nikon Coolpix S9300 compact camera is Gen Z approved. Bright, bubbly, cheap and… heck now I want one, too!
