Will ‘Jurassic World 5’ Use AI? Director Sparks Backlash After Latest Comments

Jurassic Park (1993) is a landmark film that revolutionized visual effects and helped usher in the modern era of blockbuster filmmaking. It pioneered the use of groundbreaking visual effects, both digital and practical (courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic and Stan Winston, respectively), that continue to leave audiences questioning whether Steven Spielberg and his team really had genetically engineered prehistoric dinosaurs.

Jurassic Park Changed Cinema With Its VFX

More than three decades later, the franchise continues to use those tools to create its dinosaurs (though later films have leaned more towards digital VFX).

Granted, subsequent entries in the series, particularly beyond The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), haven’t been quite as impressive as the original 1993 film, but the dinosaurs will likely always feel more tangible and tactile than anything generative AI can produce.

The Debate Around Generative AI in Film

But there’s no escaping the fact that there are suddenly an increasing number of artists in Hollywood who feel there might be real value in using generative AI as a tool in filmmaking.

It’s no mystery that AI has sown plenty of division since its arrival a few years ago, particularly in the creative world. Though some champion the tool, others view it as the antithesis to creativity and art. The widely covered 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes, for instance, were led by changes in the industry, including the emergence of new technologies such as AI.

Recently, a number of esteemed Hollywood directors have expressed their support for generative AI, with Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas) being the most recent to spark backlash by admitting that he uses it to storyboard his movies (per Variety).

Jurassic World Director Praises Generative AI

Now, Gareth Edwards, who helmed last year’s Jurassic World Rebirth, has endorsed the use of generative AI in filmmaking. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter while at AI on the Lot, an event in Culver City, California organized by Amazon, the British filmmaker said of the tool, “it is a f**king genius at helping you” and “it’s going to be better than CGI”.

“I can’t see a reason why you wouldn’t become interested in this stuff as a filmmaker,” he said of generative AI. “It’s so clearly a tool that might be up there with the camera. It’s going to be better than CGI. I’m excited, I hope you are.”

Although he later said that generative AI is more helpful with organizing ideas, testing concepts, and producing images, saying, “It has no taste whatsoever. It is a f**king genius at helping you. I view it like having a second-unit director who is a billionaire on acid. Like, it’ll do anything you ask, not a problem. Sometimes it’ll [go] batsh*t crazy. And you’ll give it notes, and it’ll be like, ‘I don’t do notes. I’ll just do something totally different.’ But it’s worth it.”

“It’s only good for iteration and discovering what the movie should be,” he added, “and then once you know what it is, go in and start making it your movie.”

Related: Next ‘Jurassic Park’ Sequel Will Use AI Dinosaurs in Unexpected Twist

Reaction online has been divided, with some users on X (formerly Twitter) criticizing Edwards for embracing AI while others argue he was merely describing its use as a pre-production tool rather than a replacement for artists.

One user writes a heated response to Edward’s remarks: “I’m so f**king sick of seeing these lazy and creatively BANKRUPT ass directors talking about AI. They lack any ounce of soul or self awareness to see that they instantly shoot themselves in the foot the moment they start praising AI. F**k these directors.”

“Sounds like crap,” another says. “Even worse that someone who has been part of some good films is considering this.”

One user comes to Edwards’ defense, saying, “Smart directors like this will succeed. While others who fail to adapt will get left behind and swept away by the revolution.”

Another points out that the “wording is misleading,” explaining that the director means that he will use AI as a reference tool for making storyboards faster, adding, “but making a film with AI is of itself real stupid if all of it is AI. This should really be spoken about more if you can’t copyright images or animation generated by AI.”

Will the Next Jurassic World Use AI?

Regardless of that mixed response, the director’s comments may cause concern for Jurassic Park fans in particular, given that he’s rumored to be in negotiations to return to helm the next installment in the franchise after Rebirth grossed $869.1 million worldwide last summer.

Scarlett Johansson is also reportedly in talks to return alongside Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey; however, Universal Pictures has not announced anything.

Edwards first gained recognition for his brilliant indie film Monsters, on which he served as writer, director, cinematographer, and VFX artist. He created the effects for the film using off-the-shelf Adobe software, ZBrush, and Autodesk 3ds Max.

However, it’s important to note that Edwards did not suggest using AI to generate finished visual effects, but his comments inevitably raise questions about where the technology could eventually be used.

It’s also worth asking whether Universal would even allow the use of generative AI to create dinosaurs in a future Jurassicfilm. It’s difficult to imagine this happening, especially considering that the franchise is synonymous with its often startlingly realistic creatures. Several entries in the series have been nominated for and won numerous accolades. It’s also worth noting the ongoing pushback from audiences where the mere idea of the use of AI in film alone is concerned.

Spielberg, who directed the original Jurassic Park and The Lost World, recently said while promoting his new film Disclosure Day starring Emily Blunt that he’s “withholding judgment on AI” but is “not willing to substitute” the tool for a role usually filled by an artist.

“Where I don’t love AI is where it takes a position, or there’s an empty chair at a writer’s table,” he said on the IMOpodcast (via Deadline). “There’s six writers, and there’s an empty chair, and there’s a computer in front of the empty chair, and it is the seventh writer. I’m not willing to substitute, because I don’t really believe in sentience. I don’t believe there is any substitute for the soul. I don’t think that is an algorithm that is inventible.”

What are your thoughts on the use of generative AI in film? How would you feel about seeing AI-generated dinosaurs in a new Jurassic World movie? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!