The Russo Brothers, best known for making some of the highest-grossing films of all time in theMCU, have addressed the use of AI technology and how it will impact the Hollywood industry in the future. Although the subject is still extremely controversial, the Russos believe that there’s a place forAI in the future of storytelling, but only if artists can remain in complete control of such technology.
During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Joe and Anthony Russo spoke about their careers and their most recent film, Netflix’sThe Electric State.From self-funding their first attempts to finish a movie to making a $320 million juggernaut for Netflix, the Russos have gone through every stage in the business.The Electric Stateis not exactly a winner with critics, but this doesn’t seem to bother the Russos, who are preparing to return to the MCU with the upcoming projects: 2026’sAvengers: Doomsdayand 2027’sAvengers: Secret Wars.
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Anthony and Joe finish each other’s sentences, and most of their success is probably thanks to their ability to work so well as a team. During their conversation with THR, they appeared open to the idea of welcoming another big player, namely “AI,” into that team. Theuse of AI has largely been met with backlashand outcry from artists and audiences who see it as a threat, but Anthony Russo has a different opinion:
“We have to approach AI the same way we approach all technological innovations. It’s potentially a valuable tool, but it’s the kind of tool that artists always have to remain in control of, but there’s going to be some valuable role in the creative process and the filmmaking process.”
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The Russo Brothers' standpoint isn’t too surprising considering they admitted to The Times that theyused AI during the production ofThe Electric State. Joe said that they used the divisive technology to modulate the robot’s voice, but it was something that a “ten-year-old could do after watching a TikTok video.” Social media users expressed their outrage at Russo’s remarks, but others responded to the outrage by mentioning the Academy Award-winning movieThe Brutalist. Adrien Brody recently won the Best Actor Oscar, but many criticized the use of AI to tweak the actor’s Hungarian accent, and some have even said that he did not deserve the award because of the “aid” he received.
Clearly, the industry trusts the Russos, with the filmmakers having proven they are capable of making billion-dollar movies. Their experience in the MCU likely convinced Netflix to greenlight a massive project likeThe Electric State,with Joe offering his take on thefuture landscape of movies and streamersapproving such high budgets alongside storytelling being shaped by “consumption.”
“The Electric Stateis certainly a big test case for this whole thing. The struggle is, can you eventize a streaming [film] when they don’t create any sense of special place in terms of how they’re presenting to the audience for a movie to say it is an event — and they don’t go out into the wider marketplace to declare that an event.”
“We are in the biggest transitional moments in the history of linear visual storytelling. It’s very hard to say at this moment where it’s going because a lot of that is going to be dictated by the taste of Gen Z once they become the dominant consumers… I expect radical change, I expect immersion, I expect a blending of virtual and linear, gaming and linear.”
Source:The Hollywood Reporter,The Sunday Times
The Electric State
