'I don't want to be murdered by a Chinese robot'
This article explores the intersection of Marvel Studios' corporate strategy and the growing societal anxiety surrounding artificial intelligence. It highlights the irony of tech leaders fearing AI-driven existential threats while simultaneously racing to develop them to beat international competitors.
Why it matters
It reflects the current cultural zeitgeist where pop culture narratives and real-world fears about AI development and geopolitical competition are increasingly intertwined.
Marvel Studios is as good a metaphor for what happens when a company starts believing in its own infallibility. After the success of Endgame in 2019, Disney executives were thoroughly convinced that no matter what they produced, it would be lapped up by audiences if you stuck a Marvel logo on it. Reality begged to differ, and audiences showed little interest in the post-Downey Jr woke universe till Kevin Feige used Jonathan Majors’ troubling behaviour to kill Kang and instead bring back the OG Godfather of the MCU: Robert Downey Jr and many of the original cast. And it’s fitting that the movie will be called Avengers: Doomsday, where Robert Downey Jr plays one of Marvel’s iconic villains.
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