Fans of Star Wars, Wes Anderson, and AI tech all got something to be excited about when YouTube channel Curious Refuge posted a fan-made AI trailer, featuring pink Stormtroopers, a well-lit cantina, and Jeff Goldblum as Emperor Palpatine. The fake trailer for a nonexistent new episode titled “The Galactic Menagerie” introduced an unlikely group of heroes intent on defying the empire and redefining what it means to be a rebel, all put together with Anderson’s trademark cinematic symmetry and eccentric humor.
Behind the trailer was Shelby and Caleb Ward, a tech-savvy couple that runs the YouTube channel. They revealed to Insider that every aspect of the video, from the concept, descriptions, video tags, and even the AI-generated celebrity voices, was created through artificial intelligence. The video went on to get over half a million views on YouTube and even caught the attention of one of Anderson’s stars, Jared Gilman, who starred in “Moonrise Kingdom”.
The couple is not the only ones experimenting with AI-generated videos. The recently-released Runway AI has made it much easier for people to create videos, and sites like Pizza Later have even seen how far this can go. Pizza Later suggests that a person on a laptop can make full episodes of their favorite shows, or even a fake “Friends” episode.
Though exciting, AI-generated videos can really only present a replication of popular cinematic styles, but can never replace the genius of the creators. Even Ward reinforces that “AI can’t create content that matches the quality of Wes Anderson”. Still, it is encouraging to see the fanfare around these videos, signaling the potential for a closer marriage between tech and film in the near future.
