Kat Dennings says Marvel has already scanned her body, raising fresh questions about how studios might use actors’ likenesses in a future shaped by AI.
Kat Dennings has played Darcy Lewis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Thor debuted in 2011, most recently appearing in WandaVision. Now, she’s revealing a detail about her relationship with Marvel that has both fans and actors uneasy.
Recently, she spoke to Entertainment Tonight on the set of Shifting Gears and was asked about the upcoming MCU project, Avengers: Doomsday. Dennings confirmed she is not in the film, but did reveal Marvel Studios has "scanned" her.
“I am in the [Marvel] universe and, as you know, I can’t tell you anything. But I am not in it. I mean, I’m not in it. I am telling you right now, I’m not in it. If I were in it, which I’m not, I couldn’t tell you, but I literally am not. I’m sure they already filmed it. I was here [on set]. I’m not in it. But they did scan me, so to be honest, they could put me in anything they want at this point. I’m in the system," Dennings shared.
Why are actors being scanned?
Dennings's comments definitely seem ominous, especially as actors continue to fight against AI. One one hand, body scans in Hollywood have become more common for VFX purposes. However, many actors have expressed concern over the process as they aren't always told how their likeness will be used.
Considering the number of high-profile actors in the MCU, they may be scanning their stars to make productions easier. Alan Cumming recently revealed to Gold Derby that he shot scenes for Doomsday "in isolation" without any other actors present.
Actors express concern over body scans
Many actors have spoken about their concern over body scans.
“You are on set. You are in costume," Olivia Williams (Dune: Prophecy) previously explained to The Guardian. "A friendly assistant director who is already known to you, who brings you tea and holds your phone while you’re acting, says that the VFX [visual effects] team are in today – and just after you finish the scene, could you pop over to the VFX bus? And off you go.
"Actors are, by and large, people pleasers," she continued. "To have a standoff about scanning when you are in the midst of a scene annihilates your creativity, engenders fear that you will never work again, that your agent will drop you. So you comply."
Nicolas Cage, who is set to star in the upcoming Sony Marvel project, Spider-Noir, also recently spoke about body scanning worries.
“They have to put me in a computer and match my eye color and change — I don’t know,” Cage told the New York Times. “They’re just going to steal my body and do whatever they want with it via digital AI. … God, I hope not AI. I’m terrified of that."
"I’ve been very vocal about it," he continued. "And it makes me wonder, you know, where will the truth of the artists end up? Is it going to be replaced? Is it going to be transmogrified? Where’s the heartbeat going to be? I mean, what are you going to do with my body and my face when I’m dead? I don’t want you to do anything with it!”
What does body scanning mean for the future?
While there are non-AI reasons to scan an actor on set, the ever-changing technology is concerning. These days, they can even insert a deceased actor into a movie. For example, former Superman actors George Reeves and Christopher Reeve both had "cameos" in The Flash. If a studio can do that to actors who were never body scanned, what can they do with the ones who were?
While successful actors like Dennings, Williams, and Cage are right to be worried about AI, background actors have been in danger of being replaced altogether. During the SAG strike in 2023, it was revealed that studios wanted to start using AI for background actors. At the time, AMPTP made a proposal to SAG-AFTRA that would have extras’ likenesses be used in perpetuity.
Thankfully, the SAG strike led to some protections for actors against AI. For example, studios are required to get informed, written consent before creating or using a digital replica of an actor. However, the technology keeps changing, and the fight continues. You can read more about A.I. on SAG's official site.
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