Robert Downey Jr. refuses to be recreated by AI ─ ''I will sue studio executives'' even after my death

Image Credit: Gage Skidmore

Robert Downey Jr., the great actor who played Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and "Oppenheimer" (2023), has revealed his intention to completely refuse to have his appearance and voice recreated by AI. He will file a lawsuit against studio executives even after his death. When asked about the possibility of himself being digitally recreated by AI technology in the future, Downey Jr., who appeared on the podcast "On With Kara Swisher," replied, "There are two ways of thinking about it." 

"My own feelings about the current situation are minimal. There are so many things I feel in real life that I don't have much room to feel anything (about AI technology)." However, Marvel Studios, which oversees the MCU, where he has long played the role of Iron Man/Tony Stark, is a subsidiary of Disney. Lucasfilm, which is also a subsidiary of Marvel, has been one of the first to try to digitally recreate late actors in the Star Wars series, but Downey Jr. has full confidence in Marvel.

"When it comes to the MCU, I'm not worried about my character's soul being taken over. There are three or four executives (at Marvel Studios) who make all the decisions, and they would never do that to me, whether I'm there or not." However, the studio's executives will eventually be replaced, and it's unclear what will happen after that. When this was pointed out, Downey Jr. responded, "That's right. So I'm here to state that I intend to sue any future executives (if they do that)." In response to the words, "You'll die too...", he said, "But the law firm will still be active."

The use of AI by film studios was one of the major issues in the Screen Actors Guild-AFTRA strike in 2023. At the end of the strike, SAG-AFTRA required studios to get the actors' consent before using digital reenactments. ABC spoke to the union, who said that actors have the right to refuse digital reenactments by law.

"I don't envy people who are hyper-integrated with the new information age," Downey Jr. said. "Even if you have a huge startup company, it's a mistake to think that it's yours. If they believe that they're the authority on technology, but they want and need to be seen as positive, that's a big problem. I find that annoying and I don't want to be involved because they're not telling the truth."

Source: On With Kara Swisher (via Variety), ABC