Secret Invasion’s opening credits are made by AI. Here’s why

This is the world of Secret InvasionIt’s a bit sketchy. With thousands of shapeshifting Skrulls on Earth, you can’t trust what you think you’re seeing. One second, you’re looking at Nick Fury or an esteemed world leader; the next, you see their face morph into something (or someone) else entirely.

This is a description of the plot of the new Marvel Cinematic Universe show on Disney Plus (as well as its comic book counterpart), which follows Nick Fury as he uncovers — what else? — a secret invasion by the Skrull population on Earth. But the concept of shape-shifting is also seen in the series’ very different approach to its opening credits, which look like a sort of watercolor rendering of the key players and themes of Secret Invasion.

As we see a sort of jittery and ominous sequence of the Skrull green taking over more and more of the world, it looks a lot like if an AI was told to interpret the concept of “Skrull cubism” — which, actually, isn’t that far off of what it is. According to director and executive producers Ali Selim, Method Studios designed the opening sequence using artificial intelligence. This, he believes, plays on the themes of the series.

“When we reached out to the AI vendors, that was part of it — it just came right out of the shape-shifting, Skrull world identity, you know? Who was this person who did it? Who are you?” Selim says.

Like many people, Selim says he doesn’t “really understand” how the artificial intelligence works, but was fascinated with the ways in which the AI could translate the sense of foreboding he wanted for the series. “We would talk to them about ideas and themes and words, and then the computer would go off and do something. And then we could change it a little bit by using words, and it would change.”

Method Studios did not respond to Polygon’s request for comment about how it designed the sequence. The company worked previously on Marvel series like Ms. Marvel, Loki, The following are some examples of how to get started: Moon Knight, Also, Game of Thrones’ Battle of the Bastards and The Human Race Seasons 2 and 3.

AI art has become a controversial topic in recent years, and concerns range from artists’ rights over how their style is used to those who are striking against the Writers Guild. But others, like Selim or Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa — a streamer using AI to build a chatbot version of herself — see AI as a tool that can prosper in the uncanny valley buffer of real life and artifice. The case of Secret Invasion Selim was excited by what Method Studios brought to the show: “It felt explorative and inevitable, and exciting, and different.”

Secret Invasion It hopes to become a new kind of MCU by embracing the spy-like intrigues and action of films like Captain America: The Winter Soldier As much as the connecting lore that binds MCU projects. Whether you’re into it or not, one thing’s for certain: Secret Invasion’s approach to opening credits is unlike any other MCU show or movie to date.