Warner Bros. Stirs Controversy After Posting 'Embarrassing' AI Dog Podcast for The End of Oak Street

Warner Bros. is nether occurrence aft it collaborated with an AI canine podcast to beforehand Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway's caller movie, The End of Oak Street.

You've astir apt seen trailers for the sci-fi movie and its next-door-neighbor dinosaur communicative successful the past fewer months. Helmed by It Follows manager David Robert Mitchell and produced by J. J. Abrams, The End of Oak Street follows Greg (McGregor), Denise (Hathaway), and the remainder of the Platt household aft their cozy suburban vicinity transports them to a unusual land.

What does that person to bash with AI oregon dogs with a podcast? That's the aforesaid question viewers online person asked each weekend.

Ears perked up and eyebrows were raised erstwhile Warner Bros. announced it had collaborated with generative AI-centered canine podcast DogPark for a caller promotional video for The End of Oak Street. Starring an AI-generated aureate retriever named Goldie and French bulldog Frenchie, the video features an artificial quality mentation of the film's real-life canine star, Starbuck.

Despite coming successful astatine a small much than a infinitesimal and a fractional long, it didn't instrumentality agelong for comments questioning Warner Bros.'s usage of AI to commencement flooding in. Although fewer societal media circles, similar Facebook, look to person generated affirmative responses from commenters, the reception seems to beryllium overwhelmingly antagonistic crossed Reddit, X/Twitter, Instagram, and more.

The backlash has bubbled quick, too. Comments truthful acold scope from those questioning wherefore a multi-billion-dollar institution is utilizing AI successful this way, to the many, galore others who person present sworn disconnected seeing The End of Oak Street altogether.

"So, this is simply a immense f**k up," 1 fashionable remark connected Instagram said. "I was truthful acceptable to spell spot this film. You've turned a guaranteed summons merchantability into idiosyncratic who conscionable doesn't adjacent privation to enactment immoderate films you enactment out... Ever. Well done, I guess, was it worthy it?"

"This is the cheapest, tackiest looking no-effort s**t," 1 Reddit idiosyncratic said. "Sure, the hatred draws attraction but it makes the full happening look truthful inconsequential. Disposable. Well done everyone."

"They’ve got 2 large Hollywood stars and f**king dinosaurs yet they’ve resorted to selling the movie with this bullshit earlier it’s adjacent out," an X idiosyncratic said.

"Embarrassing arsenic hell," different added.

— KrimsonRogue (@KrimsonRogue) August 8, 2026

pic.twitter.com/A2QGgtyYqN

— Stephen Ford (@StephenSeanFord) August 8, 2026

First promo to motivate maine to *not* spot a movie that I was primitively going to spot https://t.co/3OLYjkS0Z9

— Trey the Explainer (@Trey_Explainer) August 9, 2026 — Luke Barnett (@LukeBarnett) August 9, 2026

Some online person besides expressed disorder astir whether AI was utilized successful the making of The End of Oak Street oregon if the movie features immoderate AI-generated elements. For now, determination seems to beryllium nary motion of that being the lawsuit extracurricular of its marketing.

With oregon without AI, The End of Oak Street volition stomp into theaters this week, August 14. Warner Bros. has yet to talk up astir the contention regarding its AI canine video. In the meantime, you tin spot IGN's database of the biggest movies coming successful 2026.

Michael Cripe is simply a freelance writer with IGN. He's champion known for his enactment astatine sites similar The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be definite to springiness him a travel connected Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).