Credit: Marvel StudiosA damning new report has the Walt Disney Company in hot water after several background actors came forward about Marvel performing body scans on the set of WandaVision amid rising fears surrounding the use of AI technology.
As the fight for fair wages, job security, and streaming residuals rages on, SAG-AFTRA recently joined striking WGA members on the picket line, with the writers and actors behind some of Hollywood’s biggest films and TV shows withholding their labor until new negotiations can be reached with major studios including Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Netflix.
One of the protestors’ primary demands pertains to the use of AI generative technology in creative works, which has the very real ability to take away background actors’ jobs forever. You see, some studios have begun initiatives to have full-body scans done of extras so that their likenesses can be digitally edited into movies and TV shows. Not only does this eradicate Hollywood’s need for background actors, but it also threatens these performers’ livelihoods, as they would only be paid once before studios could use their appearances in perpetuity. Currently, the SAG-AFTRA union rate is just $187 a day for a background actor.
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Obviously, this is bad news for SAG-AFTRA members, who are trying to stop this proposed technology from getting off the ground. But to their horror, some actors who appeared on Marvel’s Emmy Award-winning WandaVision are finding out that they’ve already had their likenesses captured against their will amid growing concerns about what AI means for the entertainment industry.
A report published by NPR Wednesday left fans shocked after one whistleblower revealed that while filming WandaVision during the pandemic, the production crew told her and dozens of other background actors to report to a tractor-trailer. Upon arriving, they were told to step in front of a series of cameras on metal rigs behind glass one by one, where had their faces and bodies scanned for about 15 minutes each.
The actress, Alexandria Rubalcaba, told the outlet that she and her fellow extras were instructed to “Have your hands out. Have your hands in. Look this way. Look that way. Let us see your scared face. Let us see your surprised face” while their digital replicas were created. She and many other actors were never told how or if this virtual avatar would ever be used onscreen or if they’ll ever see any payment for it.
Horrifically enough, this practice of body-scanning background actors appears to be becoming more common. NPR interviewed five other Hollywood actors who all said they were caught off guard in recent months by having to undergo body scans. Many claimed they felt like they didn’t have much of a choice because if they pushed back, they feared the risk of retaliation, given that they were required to sign non-disclosure agreements ahead of production.
While it’s unclear what the WandaVision team wanted with these digital scans, it’s ominous to think an actor’s likeness could appear in, say, an Avengers movie somewhere down the line without their prior knowledge. Of course, these scans could’ve been taken for a legitimate reason, as the Disney+ show did feature various dimension-bending, time-hopping shenanigans and CGI bits that might’ve required additional shots of background actors.
Either way, if this increased use of AI seems like an existential threat to performers worldwide, it’s because it most certainly is. Shows like HBO’s fantasy epic Game of Thrones have already used CGI to create large battle armies, and it’s no secret that Marvel is becoming more and more dependent on computer software to fashion large-scale action sequences. The latest MCU Disney+ show, Secret Invasion, also received backlash for its use of AI in its opening title sequence.
The technology already exists, but generative AI is in a completely different ballgame. With this kind of programming, new conversations, images, and videos can be created by synthesizing preexisting data, possibly even eliminating the need for writers altogether. We’ve also seen AI-powered film editing tools used in dozens of films, with Disney especially utilizing de-aging technology for various Star Wars and Marvel projects, as well as the recent Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023).
This is all to say that the digital cloning of actors is perhaps the culmination of decades’ worth of technology, with the future of filmmaking seeming more grim than ever. With extras in Hollywood fearing they’ll be among the first in the industry made obsolete by AI, it’s no wonder this is such a controversial topic today. Still, SAG-AFTRA is not resisting AI altogether, with union officials saying they’re open to digital replicas in exchange for transparency and fair compensation.
As of now, Disney has yet to comment on these recent allegations, and it’s unlikely they will unless any of these WandaVision actors decide to take Marvel Studios to court over what seems to be an nonconsensual digital replication of their likeness. While more details surrounding this report have yet to be confirmed, it’ll be interesting to see if more extras come forward about their experiences with body scans on Disney and Marvel sets.
What do you think WandaVision‘s production team reportedly doing body scans of background actors without their knowledge? Do you agree with the use of AI in Hollywood? Let us know in the comments below.