It’s unsettling how accurate AI technology can be. We can get a picture of possible casting choices like when AI DeepDream showed us what the perfect James Bond would look like. We can also see far-fetched possibilities for roles through artificial intelligence, which was shown recently through a wild post that imagined actors like Danny DeVito, Snoop Dogg and more as Spider-Man, and now I can’t unsee it.
When Andrew Garfield’s time as Spider-Man ended in 2014, six young actors were tested for the role that ultimately was given to Tom Holland. However, as we learned from the Spider-Verse movies, anyone can be a web-slinger, and AI proved this to be true by putting Danny DeVito, Snoop Dogg, and others in the spandex suit. We found this out when AI Dreams revealed a few photos on Instagram that showed off these performers as the superhero. Let's just say that once you see this, you can't unsee it.
Never would I have pictured the man behind the mask being any of these legendary celebrities...especially Danny DeVito and Snoop Dogg. However, now that AI presented me with the possibility of them in the red-and-blue spandex, this is all I can think about.
Some of the choices don’t appear completely out of the blue though. For example, Jackie Chan and Mike Tyson both have a strong build and the fighting skills to get the job done. However, I couldn’t stop laughing seeing Will Ferrell, Danny Trejo, and Jack Black wearing the iconic suits. While they might never appear in an MCU flick as the hero, I could certainly see them as Spider-Mans in a clever SNL gag.
Then, there are other actors the AI technology gave us that I would never imagine in web-slinging suits, like Nicolas Cage. We already know the Moonstruck actor has had crazy roles in his career, and that he's voiced a Spider-person in Spider-Verse, but I don't know how I feel about him being a live-action webslinger. Even the Oscar winner himself has said he doesn’t need to be in the MCU.
As for Snoop Dogg, I can see him as a villain more than a superhero, like the time he battled vampires with Jamie Foxx in Netflix’s Day Shift.
Next, there’s Willem Dafoe fashioning the suit of his archnemesis. Now, that’s just wrong! His stellar performance as the diabolical Green Goblin is just too perfect to give him any other role.
Fan casting choices using AI technology may be funny to see, but it’s worth noting that artificial intelligence is a contributing factor in the ongoing 2023 actors' and writers' Strike. Along with their demands for fair wages, members of the Writers Guild of America worry that AI could be taking over writing their screenplays.
They could be onto something as it was explained in 2018 that artificial intelligence could affect how studios greenlight movies just by reading the script. AI could also be bad for background actors if they face the threat of studios digitally replicating them. Once the Writers Strike comes to a resolution, it’ll be interesting to see how much of a role AI could have in the near future.
I no longer need to imagine what actors would look like as Spider-Man as AI technology already did the trick. In order for me to get these wild images out of my head, and remember who our Spider-Men are, I will be watching some Spider-Man movies with my Disney+ subscription.
