Darren Aronofsky’s AI Series ‘1776’ Draws Severe Backlash: “A Complete Betrayal of Cinema”

Darren Aronofsky’s new project has stirred up quite the debate in the past 72 hours.

The filmmaker has a multi-part animated web series from AI studio Primordial Soup, it’s titled “On This Day… 1776,” and re-creates moments from the American Revolutionary War. The short-form series combines “traditional filmmaking tools and emerging AI capabilities,” including from Google’s DeepMind AI division, to tell the stories about the Revolutionary War.

TIME reports that the figures featured in the series are voiced by SAG-AFTRA actors. Darren Aronofsky serves as executive producer, the score is composed by Jordan Dykstra, and the scripts come from a writers’ room overseen by Lucas Sussman.

The series is licensed by Time Studios, which plans to roll out the episodes on TIME’s YouTube channel across 2026. The first two instalments debuted on Thursday.

In a statement, Time Studios president Ben Bitonti described the project as “a preview of what intentional, imaginative, artist-driven uses of AI can be,” adding that it is meant to complement creative craft rather than replace it, while opening new possibilities for storytellers.

Despite that intent, the response so far has been largely critical. Viewers, critics, and fellow industry creatives have pushed back, with many arguing the project crosses an uncomfortable boundary.

Over on social media one joked, “Used to be that when Darren Aronofsky wanted to feature a dead-eyed actor, he’d just employ Jared Leto.” PC Gamer wrote, “Darren Aronofsky might have finally killed art.” THR blasted the series as “AI slop.” “Daredevil: Born Again” showrunner Steven S. DeKnight labeled the series a “complete betrayal of cinema.”

Despite the backlash from unions all across the industry, some notable filmmakers have recently come out in support of AI usage in “cinema,” including Roger Deakins, George Miller, Brady Corbet, Michael Mann, Paul Schrader, Werner Herzog, and James Cameron.