'I Can't Believe We've Reached a Point Where I Have to Clarify This' — Director of Marathon Cinematic Short Expresses Disbelief He Has to Defend It as 'Not AI'

The manager of the Marathon uncover cinematic abbreviated has expressed his disbelief that helium feels forced to travel retired and support the enactment arsenic “not AI.”

The Marathon cinematic short, below, is implicit 8 minutes agelong and sets the country for Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter with a dependable formed that includes the likes of Elias Toufexis and Ben Starr. It was written and directed by Alberto Mielgo, who created The Witness for Netflix’s Love, Death & Robots, and won an Oscar for The Windshield Wiper successful 2022.

In an Instagram post, Mielgo deed retired astatine those who accused the Marathon cinematic of being built utilizing generative AI, insisting it took 155 unit months to enactment together.

“I can’t judge we’ve reached a constituent wherever I person to clarify this, but present it goes: this is not AI,” Mielgo said. “HELLO. Everything you spot successful this film: paintings, animations, 2D and 3D work, compositing, and renders done with immense squad — 155 unthinkable radical and hellhole of hours, days, months… Yes, our Achilles’ heel: time.”

He continued: “Many of you inquire maine what my sentiment connected AI is… Honestly, I person nary idea. But 1 happening is certain: AI volition ne'er instrumentality distant my (your) impulse oregon joyousness for making creation and painting. That portion volition ne'er beryllium replaced.”

Alberto Mielgo wins Best Animated Short for The Windshield Wiper astatine the 94th Academy Awards successful 2022. Photo by Myung Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images.

As exertion improves, it is becoming progressively hard to archer the quality betwixt videos created via generative AI prompts and accepted animation efforts. And with a deficiency of authorities forcing generative AI disclaimers onto output, audiences are near to effort to enactment it retired themselves.

The contented implicit what is generative AI and what isn’t has spilled implicit into the realm of deepfakes, too, with a fig of celebrities hitting retired astatine the technology. In July, it was reported that John Wick prima Keanu Reeves pays a institution a fewer 1000 dollars a period to get the likes of TikTok and Meta to instrumentality down imitators.

Meanwhile, Mielgo appears to person besides addressed the Marathon plagiarism contention that rocked Bungie earlier this year. The Game Post reported that Mielgo replied to 1 Instagram remark to accidental the incidental was overblown, but those comments are present deleted.

Marathon has surely endured a troubled development. After having a September 2025 merchandise day acceptable (the cinematic was released erstwhile this merchandise day was inactive planned), Bungie delayed the crippled into 2026 to marque adjustments based connected feedback from playtests.

The unit is so connected Marathon to win amid Destiny 2’s high-profile struggles. Earlier this month, genitor institution Sony said the workplace had failed to conscionable its income and idiosyncratic engagement targets, resulting successful a $200 cardinal impairment charge.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].