Cinematographer Matthew Libatique Says AI Could Replace Marvel's Visual Effects

Cinematographer Matthew Libatique says AI could replace the visual effects work behind Marvel films, though he does not think it will replace the cinema itself. He made the comments in an interview with Variety, published on 30 October 2026.

Libatique is a three-time Oscar nominee who served as cinematographer on Iron Man. A cinematographer, also called a director of photography, decides how a film looks through camera angles, lenses and lighting. Visual effects, or VFX, are the digital images added after filming, such as digital worlds, creatures and crowd scenes.

He said big studio productions, Marvel and rival DC among them, already rely heavily on technology. In his view, Marvel will have to bring AI into its visual effects work to control costs. He said he does not expect Marvel to use AI actors. Its characters, he argued, became popular through performers such as Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., and an AI character could not do what Robert Pattinson does on screen.

He was also clear about where he draws the line for smaller films. He said nobody is going to make Sentimental Value with AI, referring to the Norwegian drama that has drawn strong attention on the awards circuit.

Libatique is working on the technology himself. He and director Darren Aronofsky are testing AI tools ahead of shooting their next film together. Aronofsky launched an AI studio, Primordial Soup, in collaboration with Google DeepMind, the artificial intelligence research arm of Google. The two are not yet public about the film's subject or schedule.

Libatique's comments come as he prepares for a public appearance in Spain. The Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival is giving him its Cinematography Icon Award, and the festival has scheduled an in-depth ICON Talk with him, where he will discuss his craft. Festivals like this one offer a public stage for working crew members, not only directors and actors.

For anyone who has watched a superhero film, the point is simple. Behind every huge digital scene sits a long chain of decisions by artists, producers and studio executives about budgets, tools and who does the work. Libatique's comments add a voice from the camera department to a debate that has so far been led mostly by studio executives and tech companies.