Darren Aronofsky’s New AI-Generated Series Slammed On Social Media

Throughout his prolific career, Darren Aronofsky has repeatedly ruffled feathers with his bold and risk-taking approach to filmmaking, which has included divisive movies like Mother!, The Whale, Requiem For A Dream and The Wrestler.

However, with his latest project, the Oscar nominee is courting controversy for a very different reason.

Earlier this week, Aronofsky’s production company Primordial Soup announced the new series On This Day… 1776, which uses AI-generated animation to recreate key moments in the founding of America in commemoration of the country’s 250th anniversary.

While the photo-realistic (well… ish) on-screen animation is created using AI tools, the show uses the voices of real SAG-approved voice actors in its storytelling.

The first two episodes of the series – on which Aronofsky is named as an executive producer – are now streaming on Time Studios’ YouTube channel, and since the news spread on social media that the Black Swan director was overseeing a project that relied on artificial intelligence, many have been loudly expressing their disappointment.

Others accused Aronofsky of hypocrisy given his stance as an environmentalist and AI’s reported damage to the planet, while some also pointed out this wasn’t the first time the filmmaker had been accused of using other people’s existsting work in his creative process…

HuffPost UK has contacted Darren Aronofsky’s team for comment.

The use of generative AI has become an increasingly contentious issue in the entertainment industry over the last few years.

In fact, the threats posed to creators industry-wide by the rise of AI was part of what led to the Hollywood strikes of 2023.

Last year, Aronofsky unveiled the black comedy thriller Caught Stealing, which featured the likes of Austin Butler, Zoe Kravitz, Matt Smith, Oscar winner Regina King and Bad Bunny among its cast.

He previously won an Emmy for his work as a producer on the documentary The Territory, and was nominated for Best Director at the 2010 Oscars for his film Black Swan.