Credit: DC / Warner Bros.Warner Bros. has been accused of using AI bots to try and create buzz around its upcoming DC reboot.
Despite its best efforts, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) never managed to gain the same level of critical and commercial success as its archnemesis, Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Launched with Man of Steel (2013), which saw Henry Cavill debut as Superman, the DCEU aimed to replicate the interconnected universe model Marvel perfected. However, an inconsistent tone, rushed storytelling, and divisive films like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017) hurt its momentum.
Despite successes with standalone films like Wonder Woman (2017) and Aquaman (2018), the DCEU’s overall direction remained muddled. Things came to a head with Black Adam (2022), which proved to be a turning point for the struggling franchise. Starring Dwayne Johnson, the film not only underperformed at the box office but also sparked controversy.
A report by Puck revealed that several Warner Bros. executives believed Johnson’s team leaked a financial sheet to Deadline Hollywood, allegedly inflating marketing costs, home entertainment revenue, and the film’s interest rate.
While Johnson claimed that Black Adam served as the first film in Phase One of a new storytelling initiative in the DCEU, these plans (if they ever existed) were scuppered when Warner Bros. decided to raze the DC Extended Universe to the ground and start again with the DC Universe under the creative leadership of James Gunn and producer Peter Safran.
Gunn, known for his work on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and DC’s The Suicide Squad, was chosen for his ability to blend character-driven stories with humor and action. Warner Bros. tapped Gunn to reshape the DCU, focusing on long-term planning and creative consistency. Next year’s Superman (2025) is already in post-production.
Upcoming DC Universe projects include The Brave and the Bold, which will dive into the “Bat-Family” and introduce Batman’s son, Damian Wayne, as a new version of Robin. Meanwhile, another project, the TV series Lanterns, has seen fresh developments in recent weeks. Among the buzz, actor Kyle Chandler is reportedly in talks to take on the role of Hal Jordan.
What should be an exciting development for the franchise has instead sparked a totally different conversation on social media. X (formerly known as Twitter) users have noticed that the news about Chandler is being parroted by a lot of AI-powered bot accounts, to such a heavy extent that some have theorized Warner Bros. is paying for AI to stir up buzz for the upcoming DC Universe.
WB is using bots 😭😭😭
WB is using bots 😭😭😭 https://t.co/GfL7bIVv0e
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) September 27, 2024
It’s true that a lot of the posts about Chandler’s casting do sound extremely rigid, à la AI. It’s also pretty suspicious that they all use the same picture (and are posted by accounts with generic bot-sounding usernames).
While Warner Bros. Discovery is unlikely to ever admit to using AI to create fake hype, it’s been pretty open about its other uses of the technology. Only this week, it launched a new AI-powered Google Cloud solution to generate closed captions for content on its streaming service, Max.
For now, we’ll emphasize that it’s only allegedly using bots for this purpose. However, let’s just say that we’ll be watching the promotion of upcoming DC Studios films with extremely keen interest.
Do you think it’s right for movie studios to use AI for promotion?