Del Torres Promises No AI in Pan's Labyrinth 3D Re-Release
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- Guillermo del Toro promised the audience at San Diego Comic-Con that "absolutely no goddamn AI" was used in converting Pan's Labyrinth to 3D for its theatrical re-release, premiering Oct. 9.
- Del Toro acknowledged the non-AI approach is "much more expensive" but said he doesn't care, arguing Hollywood must protect "the beauty and the redeeming power of art" and the craft lineage of artists.
- Del Toro previously told NPR he'd "rather die" than use AI, saying at 61 he hopes to remain "uninterested in using it at all until I croak."
- Pan's Labyrinth, the 2006 Spanish-language gothic fantasy film, earned $83 million worldwide and won three Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, and Best Makeup.
- Del Toro appeared at Comic-Con to celebrate the film's 20th anniversary, positioning himself as "immovable" in opposition to AI as Hollywood more broadly softens its stance on the technology.
Why it matters: Del Toro is staking a public, cost-be-damned position against AI in a year when major studios are increasingly adopting the technology for visual effects work. For the 3D re-release set for Oct. 9, fans get the reassurance that a 20th-anniversary version of the three-time Oscar-winning film was converted by human artists, not algorithms.
