Evangeline Lilly Blasts Disney Layoffs at Marvel, Claims Artists Being Replaced by AI

Marvel Actor Blasts Disney Layoffs And Blames Them On AI

Evangeline Lilly from Ant-Man had harsh words for the House of Mouse People are still reeling from Disney's mass layoffs last month, including Ant-Man's Evangeline Lilly. The Marvel actor who played the Wasp opposite Paul Rudd recently put out an Instagram video blasting the cuts and suggesting that the threat of generative AI looms large over the unexpected downsizing of Marvel's visual development team. “I reached out to my good friend Andy Park, who was the genius behind creating the original Wasp super-suit and the original Wasp concept drawings for the film Ant-Man and the Wasp, and just said, â€~Is this true? Is this really what’s happening?'†she said in a video posted on April 29 (via The Hollywood Reporter). “And he said, â€~Yeah, it’s true. I have been let go.’ And I can’t quite believe that, that Disney has let go of the artists who brought the Marvel Universe to life through their imagination and their genius.†Marvel's visual development team, which reportedly lost nearly 10 percent of its staff last month, is responsible for helping to create and maintain a unified identity for the MCU across movies, television, and other media. It employs concept artists and other specialists to generate designs and create a "house style" of iconic looks for movies that go on to generate billions in box office and streaming revenue. Park was one of its veterans, and had been working on projects dating back to the original Captain America movie in 2011. "The people who invented these characters, who designed them in the first place, are now being replaced by AI," Lilly alleged. "AI that will take their designs and take what those artists created and use it to create iterations of that." Disney had previously hashed out a $1 billion deal with OpenAI to work on AI-generated videos using its licensed IP and was reportedly caught completely off-guard when the tech company randomly shuttered its money-losing Sora slop-sharing platform experiment. But the company is reportedly still pursuing AI initiatives with other potential business partners, leaving creatives to worry about being losing their jobs and the slopificaiton of one of the biggest brands in Hollywood. "This [visual development team] was something that Kevin [Feige] really wanted because, being a comic book fan, [he had] a particular vision of how things should be translated," one former employee told Polygon last month. "This team was very specific, and we were often told that other departments don't like having this team onâ€"not like a rivalry, but some sort of politics [were] going on in between these different departments."

Evangeline Lilly Slams Marvel Studios Layoffs, Says Artists Who "Brought MCU to Life" Are "Being Replaced by AI"

Ant-Man star Evangeline Lilly is voicing her frustrations for the recent Disney layoffs that hit a number of Marvel Studios staffers. CEO Josh D'Amaro informed staff about cuts in a memo on April 14, with a source familiar with the matter telling The Hollywood Reporter that around 1,000 jobs were eliminated. Marvel Studios included in the cuts, and laid off members of its visual development team, notably 16-year veteran Andy Park, who was well known by fans. In an Wednesday Instagram video, Lilly explained that upon hearing the news of layoffs, she reached out to Park, who confirmed that he had been let go. "I reached out to my good friend Andy Park, who was the genius behind creating the original Wasp super-suit and the original Wasp concept drawings for the film Ant-Man and the Wasp, and just said, 'Is this true? Is this really what's happening?'" she said. "And he said, 'Yeah, it's true. I have been let go.' And I can't quite believe that, that Disney has let go of the artists who brought the Marvel Universe to life through their imagination and their genius." Park worked with Marvel for nearly two decades, beginning with 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor. He went on to lend his talents to most of the studios major projects across the MCU, including Avengers: Endgame; he additionally worked on the latter film's long-awaited sequel, Avengers: Doomsday. Lilly added she was shocked that "that the people who invented these characters, who designed them in the first place, are now being replaced by AI." It's unknown if Disney does indeed intend to use AI for such work. The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Marvel Studios for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication. "AI that will take their designs and take what those artists created and use it to create iterations of that," Lilly continued. In the caption of the social post, Lilly directly tagged Disney's Instagram account, writing, "SHAME ON YOU for turning your back on the people who built the power you are now using to throw them away." "Where are the laws that REMOVE all human art from the AI bank?!? Why do they get to steal our brilliance and use it to make executives rich while the artists responsible for feeding their robots go hungry?? Disgusting," she wrote. "California lawmakers...where are you?!?!?"

'Shame on You': Marvel Star Evangeline Lilly Slams Disney for 'Disgusting' VFX Layoffs, Says Staff Are 'Now Being Replaced by AI'

"The people who built the power you are now using to throw them away." Outspoken Marvel star Evangeline Lilly has slammed Disney for its recent round of layoffs, which reportedly left 1,000 staff out of work. Last month, job losses were reported at Marvel offices in both New York and Burbank and throughout the company's comics, TV and film production. In particular, Marvel's visual development department is believed to have been hit hard, with Disney moving to a contractor-based model for future projects. Lilly, who played Hope van Dyne AKA The Wasp in the Ant-Man trilogy and Avengers: Endgame, said she had recently discussed the layoffs with Marvel artist Andy Park, who designed her MCU character's superhero suit. "[Park] said, 'Yeah, it's true. I have been let go,'" Lilly explained via a video posted to her Instagram account. "And I can't quite believe that, that Disney has let go of the artists who brought the Marvel Universe to life through their imagination and their genius." Originally formed in 2010, Marvel's visual development team of artists, illustrators, designers, and other specialists has historically been a key component of steering the look and feel of film and TV productions within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Park was one of the team's earliest members, working on numerous projects from the original Captain America and Thor back in Phase 1, to this year's still-in-the-works Avengers: Doomsday. Without going into detail, Lilly alleged that the layoffs were at least in part caused by the adoption of AI processes within Disney, something that was seeing human workers "replaced." "The people who invented these characters, who designed them in the first place, are now being replaced by AI," Lilly claimed. "AI that will take their designs and take what those artists created and use it to create iterations of that." "SHAME ON YOU for turning your back on the people who built the power you are now using to throw them away," Lilly wrote in a caption for her video. "Where are the laws that REMOVE all human art from the AI bank?!? Why do they get to steal our brilliance and use it to make executives rich while the artists responsible for feeding their robots go hungry?? Disgusting." In a note sent to staff at the time of the layoffs, newly-installed Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro did not mention AI specifically, but said the layoffs were a result of the company seeking to "streamline" its operations in order to "foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce." As for Lilly, the star previously suggested she is now on a break from acting, and there has been no suggestion she will reprise her Marvel role for Avengers: Doomsday. Image credit: Jun Sato/WireImage.