Now there’s an AI-generated trailer for The Lord of the Rings (as directed by Wes Anderson)

The other week, the YouTube channel Curious Refuge brought us a parody trailer showing what Star Wars might look like if it were directed by cult filmmaker Wes Anderson, with his fondness for pastel colors, stilted framing, and diorama-like setups. It was funny, accurate, and generated completely by AI, from the script to the images.

Now, Curious Refuge is back with more of the same, only this time, instead of directing Star Wars, Wes Anderson is directing The Lord of the Rings. Check out the trailer for The Whimsical Fellowship: A Lord of the Rings Story below:

If I take one thing from this trailer, it will be the image of AI-Willem Dafoe playing Gollum. Nightmare fuel, that one.

Wes Anderson directs Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, whatever else AI can dream up

This trailer is cute, although I didn’t like it as much as the Star Wars trailer, I think in part because it uses the exact same structure, right down to the list of actors that ends with Owen Wilson playing a villain and saying “wow.”

Like, it’s exactly the same. Take a look at the Star Wars trailer for comparison:

Also, this trailer raises the same questions as the last one, including whether it’s okay to digitally reconstruct the likenesses of actors without them having a say in it. There are a lot of unresolved issues surrounding an AI. Hollywood (and Washington D.C.) will have to deal with them in the coming years. In the meantime, expect more fun videos like this one.

As for the real Wes Anderson, his movie Astroid City is out in theaters on June 16.

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