Disney's AI Experiments in Filmmaking Face Legal and Ethical Hurdles

Report: Disney's Attempts to Experiment With Generative AI Have Already Hit Major Hurdles

A new report from WSJ suggests that plans to use generative AI elements on the live-action 'Moana' and 'Tron: Ares' were stymied by legal ramifications... and the potential for public backlash. As Silicon Valley has pushed the world more and more into trying to make the generative AI boom sustain itself, Hollywood is still standing on the precipice of a transformative moment. Studios are grappling with the purported potential (and demands for cost savings) artificial intelligence models may bring, weighed against the legal minefields exploiting such technologies can representâ€"and an increasing public backlash to the technology. Disney is certainly no exception, as the company is already familiar with both the legal headaches and the PR nightmare generative AI can represent. But a new report from the Wall Street Journal claims that there've been even more attempts behind the scenes at Disney's studio to try and utilize generative AI technologies... neither of which purportedly went very far or well, for very different reasons. Two upcoming productions that tried to navigate potential use of generative AI mentioned in the WSJ report are the upcoming live-action Moana remake and Tron: Ares. For the former, Disney reportedly planned to work with an AI company called Metaphysic to create a digital deepfake of actor Dwayne Johnson, set to reprise his role as the demigod Maui in the remake. In an attempt to reduce the number of days Johnson would be required on set for production, the alleged plan was to have Johnson's cousin, Tanoai Reed, act as a stand-in who would have Johnson's deepfaked face put over his performance in post-production. Although the plan was for a "small number of shots," according to WSJ's report, after 18 months of negotiation and work between Disney and Metaphysic, none of the shots using Reed's performance will be in the final movie when it releases in July 2026. WSJ's report cited concerns over data security on Disney's end, as well as the legal question that lingers over any broader embrace of generative AI technology in Hollywood: who, exactly, owns the end product when generative AI models are used to create even a part of it? That thorny question of ownership has already seen Disney take legal action against AI companies over claims of illegal misuse of copyrighted material to train their models. In June this year, Disney teamed up with Universal to sue Midjourney over what the suit described as a "bottomless pit of plagiarism," accusing the AI company's image generator of breaching copyright laws to distribute and create images trained on the studios' library of characters and franchises. But copyright is not the only concern Disney faces when it comes to ideas around generative AI: the studio is also increasingly navigating potential publicity nightmares as social backlash to the use of the technology increases. In another example in WSJ's report, it's alleged that Disney executives pitched creatives on the set of Tron: Ares on including a generative AI character in the film, which itself is already about artificial intelligences escaping the digital world of "The Grid" to be exploited as military contractors in the real world. According to WSJ, the character would've been called "Bit" and acted as a potential companion to Jeff Bridges' returning Kevin Flynn, and built off of context provided by a writer, the generated character would then be recorded and deliver lines performed by an actor, responding as if the model itself were Bit. The report claims that similarly the idea was stymied again by legal discussions at the time, amid negotiations with unions, as well as the fact that Disney executives were purportedly told to drop the idea internally because "the company couldn’t risk the bad publicity." Disney is, of course, no stranger to public embarrassment when it comes to its properties and AI, either. Marvel was lambasted for the use of generative AI to create the opening title sequence to its Disney+ series Secret Invasion in 2023, and found itself defending itself from accusations of its use once more for the early marketing campaign for Fantastic Four: First Steps. Earlier this summer, Disney's investment into Epic Games was touted through the arrival of a generative-AI-enhanced Darth Vader avatar in Fortnite to promote the battle royale video game's then-ongoing Star Wars event, "Galactic Battle", where Darth Vader could be recruited by players, using a deepfake model of the late James Earl Jones' voice to interact with players in real time. Players promptly figured out ways to get around Epic's content restrictions and get the generative Vader to swear and use slurs. Although Epic managed to fix the bugs within 30 minutes of the Vader character's appearance going live in Fortnite, several videos of the exploits went viral on social media. SAG-AFTRA also filed an unfair labor practice charge against Epic over the use of generative AI denying a human actor the chance to voice the role (Jones' estate had already sold the rights to his voice to the Ukrainian tech company Respeecher in 2022 before his passing), but rumors recently swirled that the union dropped the charges in the wake of signing a new contract last month. The legal outcome of Disney and Universal's lawsuit is still to be decided, but what is seemingly clear is that the potential AI takeover of Hollywood that has been feared with the proliferation of generative AI may not be as close as some people (and some companies) expect.

Disney Almost AI-Deepfaked Dwayne Johnson But Thought Better of It

Disney was reportedly planning to deepfake Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for parts of the live-action remake of Moana but ultimately decided against it over fears of reprisal and copyright concerns. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Disney considered using AI to create a digital double of Johnson. The plan involved using Johnson's cousin, Tanoai Reed, as a body double, with AI company Metaphysic generating a deepfake of Johnson's face to layer onto Reed's performance. This would have allowed Johnson to appear in scenes without being physically present. Though Johnson approved the concept, Disney ultimately dropped the idea over concerns that AI-generated content might limit the studio's legal ownership of the footage. After 18 months of negotiations with Metaphysic, none of the experimental material will appear in the final film, set to release next summer. The WSJ notes that this isn't the only time Disney has walked back plans to incorporate AI. For Tron: Ares, a sequel that explores artificial intelligence in its narrative, Disney considered using generative AI to power an on-screen character that would respond dynamically to its environment. The project, however, was shelved amid fears of negative publicity during ongoing union negotiations. "Executives internally were told that the company couldn't risk the bad publicity," WSJ reports. These episodes highlight the tension around AI at not just Disney, but the wider industry. "We have been around for 100 years and we intend to be around for the next 100 years. AI will be transformative, but it doesn't need to be lawless," says Disney's Chief Legal Officer Horacio Gutierrez It is worth noting that Disney, along with Universal, recently launched legal action against the AI image generator Midjourney -- perhaps the reason Disney is playing it cautiously. The WSJ notes that other studios such as Lionsgate and A24 are both experimenting with AI tools, but others avoid even mentioning the technology entirely. At this year's Academy Awards, The Brutalist is widely thought to have lost the Oscar for Best Picture after the movie's editor admitted to using AI.

Disney's Secret Experiments With AI Have Reportedly Been a Comical Disaster

The popular narrative is that workers in the movie and TV industries are set to be trampled by artificial intelligence. But the reality may be more complicated. Behind the scenes, Disney has reportedly been struggling to deploy AI after creating a whole new business unit dedicated to the tech -- especially without enraging people they still rely on in the process. As the Wall Street Journal reports, Disney has on multiple occasions in recent years scrapped AI projects over legal concerns and warnings that actor and writer unions may reject the technology that could ultimately replace them. The entertainment conglomerate recently decided, for instance, to "clone" Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for his role in the upcoming live-action "Moana" remake by deepfaking his face onto his similarly-shaped cousin Tanoai Reed's body. According to the WSJ's insider sources -- who were granted anonymity to allow them to speak freely -- Johnson approved of the gambit, but Disney's attorneys were ultimately unable to pin down how to protect the data from such "digital double" filming, or even to ensure that the company owned every aspect of the intellectual property if any of it was generated with AI. They're right to be concerned: since virtually all frontier AI models were created by using publicly-scraped text and imagery, anything you produce with them exists on shaky copyright ground -- a haziness that's anathema to Disney's notorious stranglehold on its characters and properties. Though some footage apparently did end up being shot, Disney and its AI partner Metaphysic ultimately couldn't hammer out a contract despite 18 months of trying, and none of those scenes will be in the "Moana" reboot when it hits theaters next summer. In a similar snafu, the newspaper reports that the entertainment giant kowtowed to concerns about bad press when deciding to kibosh plans to incorporate AI into the forthcoming "Tron: Ares" film, a second sequel to the 1982 original. According to the WSJ's insiders, executives pitched a scene that would have featured Bit, an animated sidekick to Jeff Bridges' reprisal of programmer Kevin Flynn, being generated on-screen by AI. The generation process would, in turn, be voiced by a human actor. Aside from being convoluted and difficult to execute, the scene was also tossed aside for far more mundane reasons: because Disney was in the middle of contract negotiations with writer and actor unions at the time, and didn't want to risk being found out while the guilds campaigned against the very AI it was covertly trying to use. Things only get funnier with a layer of irony. While grappling with how to bring in AI tactfully, if such a thing is even possible, Disney has also been in court protecting its own intellectual property from other AI companies. This past June, Disney joined forces with Universal Studios to sue the AI image generator startup Midjourney over its alleged use of the companies' copyrighted material, calling it the "quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism" in a scathing complaint. Attempting to explain the Mickey Mouse creator's desire to wield the double-edged sword of AI, Disney legal chief Horacio Gutierrez told the WSJ that the company is trying to "enable our creators to use the best AI tools available without compromising the company long term." That certainly sounds like a difficult tightrope to walk -- and one that Disney could have avoided entirely had its c-suite not decided to go all-in on AI.

Disney wanted to create a generative AI character for Tron: Ares and explored putting The Rock's head on a different body using deepfake tech for the live-action Moana remake

Disney has apparently tried - and failed - to make use of generative AI in two of its upcoming blockbusters 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.

Disney planned and pitched strong AI usage in live-action Moana remake, Tron: Ares

Disney had planned and pitched the heavy use of AI in two of its biggest upcoming movies, Tron: Ares and the live-action Moana remake. A new report shows that the Mouse is still heavily invested in using the new and unproven technology where it can. According to the report, which stems from the Wall Street Journal, Disney executives pitched an idea for there to be an AI-generated character in Tron: Ares, who would have acted as a sidekick for Jeff Bridges' character. The idea was scrapped due to concerns around optics and it drawing in bad publicity. Another plan was to have Dwayne Johnson's face put on another actor's body using AI for the live-action Moana remake. Johnson apparently approved the plan, but it never went ahead due to data and copyright concerns. One of these days, it seems like a plan or pitch won't get scrapped, and we'll see some major AI usage in big films. Already, it's creeping more and more into the films we see, so be sure to keep an eye out for more of it.

Disney's AI setbacks offer some hope for artists

The House of Mouse worries about copyright when it comes to its own. With all the hype around generative AI, it's hardly surprising that Disney has conducted 'secret' experiments with the tech. After all, Lucasfilm, which is owned by Disney, seemed quite proud of the embarrassing AI Stars Wars movie that it presented back in May. But it seems that Disney's experiments have been hitting some setbacks, which could offer some hope for those opposed to the AI art. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Disney has had to scrap multiple AI projects due to legal issues and concerns about the reactions of actor and writer unions. Anonymous insiders are cited as saying that the company wanted to "clone" Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson for the upcoming live-action Moana remake by using AI deepfake tech to put his face onto the body of his cousin Tanoai Reed. The Rock approved, and Disney reportedly even shot some footage before contract negotiations with AI partner Metaphysic fell through. It's said that Disney's lawyers couldn't assure the company that it would own all of the intellectual property if some of it was generated by AI. As a result, the AI-cloned The Rock won't appear in Moana when it's released next July. What's most surprising is that Disney didn't realise this earlier before wasting money on shots it couldn't use. The murkiness of copyright in AI-generated art is hardly news, and Disney is a company that has aggressively protected its characters and other assets. Its even suing Midjourney with Universal Studios for training generative AI on copyrighted material. Apparently, Disney also dropped plans to use AI in Tron: Ares to generate animations for Bit, the binary assistant in the sci-fi movie. In this case, the AI turned out to be difficult to implement, but also Disney didn't want to risk being discovered using AI while it was in contract negotiations with writer and actor unions. I hope Disney has now realised the difficult line it needs to tread to avoid hypocrisy in experimenting with AI art while also complaining about infringements on its own copyright. In their lawsuit, Disney and Universal call Midjourney a "quintessential copyright free-rider" and a "bottomless pit of plagiarism". Surely Disney wouldn't stoop to the same level? There can be big differences between generative AI models, and they're not all necessarily trained on copyright material. Some studios are experimenting with training internal AI models on their own libraries, and what Disney wanted to do with The Rock doesn't sound so dissimilar to the deepfake Peter Cushing in Star Wars: Rogue One. The problem is that many foundational models were trained on material scraped from the internet. To avoid any risk on infringing on copyright, any in-house model would have to be custom trained from the ground up only on the company's own IP.