Lucasfilm continues to charge ahead with making new content for Star Wars, from movies, shows, and even projects meant to serve as a pseudo-documentary for the creatures and animals of a galaxy far, far away. However, one of their new pieces stirred up an unexpected response due to the production process. 

During a TED Talk, Rob Bredow of Lucasfilm gave a look at the brand new project from the Star Wars universe. As stated, it focuses on the wildlife within the world, but the footage features animals completely rendered and created by artificial intelligence. Bredow made it clear, as well, that it is not meant to serve as a teaser for an upcoming show or anything of that nature, but rather just a showcase of what AI can do. 

Although some see it as an advancement of technology, many have not viewed AI as such. AI has been a hot topic since it began to be utilized in film, with many taking a strong stance against it. It would even be one of the core issues around the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes of 2023. 

Similarly, Star Wars fans are taking issue with what the AI was able to generate as well. 

Since its debut, the franchise has been home to many iconic creatures and species. From Wookiees and Debacks, to Jabba the Hutt and his pet rancor, creature design has been a major part of the appeal of Star Wars. But while many other past examples seem, quite literally, out of this world, the ones shown off in the AI snippet are quite realistic by comparison. Many look like animals from Earth, just with different colors or minor feature changes, while others look like a blend of Earth creatures, like the snail with the head of a peacock. 

PCGamer did not mince words with their reaction, saying, “I don’t think tech and creativity were particularly aligned on this one.” They would go on to establish, as well, that they were not convinced in the slightest that this shift in technology could live up to how the first Star Wars affected cinema. 

They even went as far as to include a screenshot of the comment section on the TED talk, with one user quoting “don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed,” which was said by none other than Darth Vader. 

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