Former Marvel artist speaks out about Disney layoffs, possible use of artificial intelligence in Marvel Cinematic Universe

This week, The Walt Disney Co. initiated company-wide layoffs, affecting various parts of the organization, targeting everything from the home video team to ESPN. A division was hit hard It is reported:Marvel Studios lost almost everything Visual development team. Over the past two decades, these artists have shaped the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from costume design to the movies’ biggest moments, and won many awards along the way.

In a particularly poignant post, artist Wesley Burt lamented the “irony of having a one-on-one HR layoff meeting in a conference room with my Rocky mural hanging above it.”

The visual development team consists of about 13 to 15 people, artist Michael Uwandi, a former member of the team, told Polygon. Uwandi leaves Marvel Studios after completing latest project Moon Knight and Captain America: Brave New World.

“A lot of times when these movies come on our plate, we’re assigned certain roles,” Uwandi said, “but often we don’t even have a script to begin with, so it really allows us to create visuals that inspire the movie, design things like characters, costumes, (and) key frames, which are basically static stories for the shots in the movie that are usually action-oriented or character-oriented.”

In other words, the visual development team not only designs the costumes but also works with the film or TV show’s specific directors and writers to shape the story.

The Marvel vis development team, which had been around for 20 years, was disbanded – a real misfortune for those who had shown such loyalty to the company.

Another former team member spoke to Polygon on condition of anonymity but had been involved in projects such as Deadpool and Wolverine and Fantastic Four: The First Stepsaid collaboration between the staffed visual development team and the rotating teams on various movies and TV shows wasn’t always smooth.

“This (visual development team) is something Kevin (Feige) really wanted because, as a comic book fan, (he) has a particular perspective on how things translate,” the source said. “This team is very specific and we’re often told that other departments don’t like this team — not like a competition, but some sort of politics going on between these different departments.”

So why reduce visual development? Sources told Polygon that Marvel has significantly expanded its visual development team as it pushes for more Disney+ content, and the layoffs are in line with the direction of the studio. Still, one of our artist sources couldn’t help but wonder if they were more expendable because of their insider connections.

“I do know that a lot of different departments, especially the costume design department, don’t like having us around.”NumberNumber

Despite its alleged infighting, Marvel has managed to bring a cohesive “family feel” to its films, tying together dozens of filmmakers and even disparate genres. Both former team members who spoke to Polygon said the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s cross-movie cohesion was a direct result of having an in-house visual development team.

Uwandi said the visual development team is often the link between comic books and big screen interpretations of Marvel characters.

“A lot of them are huge (Marvel Comics) fans,” he said. “Their understanding of the source material is on another level entirely. When you have that understanding, it really empowers you in terms of design because you don’t have to learn as you go. Now, of course, we still do that, but when you understand something to that level, you know exactly what the fans want to see. You know exactly how to push and pull while still being fan-friendly.”

In contrast, Uwandi said people in the film industry tend to “try to escape” the comic book look.

What does it mean for the future of the Marvel Universe to have such an integral part of Marvel’s success suddenly disappear? Uwandi said the advantage of having a team like this and having them together internally is “familiarity and comfort,” which leads to ease and motivation for growth. However, when artists move from project to project, with different studios and different design sensibilities, projects take longer to get off the ground. While these layoffs were intended to save money, Uwandi said the move was “short-sighted.”

Editing can also affect the quality of the film, and Uwandi said the team’s camaraderie made the work better.

“Working in-house, you’re inspired and motivated by your colleagues. I’d be inspired and I’d be like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got to step up,’” Uwandi said. “It’s not within a company, so it’s much less personal.”

Uwandi also believes that the loss of the team could lead to a lack of consistency in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, because while each movie has its own team, the visual development team is the main thread for all these projects. If it were scrapped, the result would likely be a lack of consistency between movies.

Of course, the big picture in the room is the potential uses of generative AI, and whether at least some of those jobs will be replaced by it. “I’m not sure, but unfortunately I wouldn’t be surprised,” Uwandi said.

Another source at Polygon, who most recently worked at Marvel, claims that external collaborators who join the MCU project with specific directors (rather than the internal visual development team) sometimes use artificial intelligence in their work.

“I do feel like that’s part of it,” they said. “A lot of things are moving towards artificial intelligence. There are other teams that are already using artificial intelligence. I don’t know if Marvel has ever stated this, but a lot of them are using it. Not the visual development team, but other teams that are coming in, like the art department, etc., or the costume designers. They are already using it.”

A third former member of the visual development team, who also wished to remain anonymous, insisted the move had nothing to do with technology and everything to do with the way Disney considered full-time labor versus contractor work.

“I can tell you, this is no Because of artificial intelligence, because they plan to rehire but as freelance workers,” they said.

Regardless, the decision to part ways with the visual development team marks the end of an era for Marvel, which relied on artists to interpret decades of comics for mainstream consumption.

“Unfortunately, people are losing their jobs and careers,” Uwandi said. “The Marvel development team, which had been around for 20 years, was disbanded like this – it’s really unfortunate for these people who showed loyalty to the company. They could have gone elsewhere, but they chose to stay at Marvel.”

Polygon reached out to Marvel and Disney to clarify the scope of the layoffs and the suggestions made by former employees in this article. We will update with any additional comments or clarification.