‘Tron: Ares’ Almost Starred an AI Generated Character — Here’s Why It Didn’t Happen

Disney almost brought real artificial intelligence into its upcoming film “Tron: Ares.” The plan didn’t make it past the early stages, but it would have been a big first for the studio. People familiar with the idea say executives thought it would be a cool way to market the movie, which is set to come out in October and is all about an AI soldier entering the real world.

The pitch was to bring back Bit, the small animated sidekick from the original “Tron” movie that starred Jeff Bridges. A writer would give a generative AI program all the backstory and details about Bit. Then, on set, the AI would act as the character, voiced by a human actor, and respond to questions in real time while the cameras rolled.

But the timing was bad. Disney was in contract talks with unions representing writers and actors. According to people familiar with the matter, executives were told the idea could backfire and cause a public relations mess. So the plan was shut down according to The Wall Street Journal.

Disney has been moving carefully with AI for a while. CEO Bob Iger and Chief Technology Officer Aaron LaBerge Gutierrez have even met with White House officials to talk about fears of AI using Disney’s characters in ways the company can’t control. Disney is especially worried about AI companies copying its characters without permission.

The company is also keeping a close watch on big tech firms like Google and OpenAI. These companies say they need access to copyrighted material to train AI models so they can keep up with China’s AI development.

Disney disagrees. In June, the studio teamed up with Comcast’s Universal to sue the AI image company Midjourney. They accused Midjourney of making illegal copies of their characters. In the lawsuit, Disney and Universal called the company “the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism.”

Some people in the industry see the lawsuit as the strongest push yet to create clear legal rules around AI. Others joke that Disney is “the largest law firm in California” because of how hard it fights to protect its intellectual property.

Gutierrez says Disney is trying to find the right balance between exploring AI and protecting its creations. “Our job is to enable our creators to use the best AI tools available without compromising the company long term,” he said.

AI is moving fast, and Disney knows it. At a company retreat earlier this year in Orlando, Lucasfilm executive Rob Bredow gave a presentation showing just how quickly the technology is improving.

He showed clips made by an artist that featured a droid landing on a planet and meeting alien creatures. The artist made one set of clips in the fall and another a few months later, and the quality jump was huge.

For now, “Tron: Ares” will go ahead without an AI-generated character. But with the way AI is changing entertainment, it might only be a matter of time before Disney tries something like this again.

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