People React in Horror to Lucasfilm’s AI-Generated ‘Star Wars’ Animals

May 19, 2025

Matt Growcoot

A large animal with the body of a polar bear and the stripes of a tiger lies on grass. The image appears through a futuristic digital display showing details like planet, species, and habitat. — This animal that has the body of a bear but the markings of a tiger appeared in the short film titled *Star Wars: Field Guide*.

Lucasfilm has horrified fans by showing off a series of AI-generated animals that allegedly belong in the Star Wars universe.

During a TED Talk, Lucasfilm visual effects artist Rob Bredow unveiled the short film, named Star Wars: Field Guide, describing it as “what it would feel like if you sent a probe droid out to a brand new Star Wars planet.”

Bredow then unveiled a series of bizarre AI-generated creatures that were reminiscent of the work of Photoshop artist and photographer Sarah DeRemer who created animal hybrids.

There are bears crossed over with tigers, peacocks with snail shells, and blue gazelles. It looks as if the still images were AI-generated and then brought to life with an AI video app.

A digital display shows a creature with the body of a peacock and a snail shell, featuring peacock feather patterns. The interface labels the species as unknown and its habitat as a lush jungle with predators. — Lucasfilm

A large, elephant-like creature with multiple octopus-like tentacles on its face is seen underwater, surrounded by small fish. The creature is viewed through a futuristic, digital display interface. — Lucasfilm

A blue-furred, antelope-like creature with horns lies on a forest floor beside its newborn calf, seen through a digital camera viewfinder displaying sci-fi data overlays. — Lucasfilm

Bredow stresses that the project is a “work-in-progress” and the bizarre creatures are not final character designers. “This is what happens when you put the latest AI tools in the hands of talented artists,” he adds in the video below.

Fans did not hold back online. “Lucasfilm declares creative bankruptcy with an AI-generated Star Wars film that’s just 2 minutes of mostly normal animals jumbled together,” was the headline of one Reddit post that got plenty of attention.

Some fans called for the Star Wars franchise to end after showing a video that a “14-year-old could do on their smartphone.”

“The AI video was the same slop we’ve been seeing for ages now,” writes one YouTube TED Talks commenter.

“None of those creatures look like they belong in Star Wars,” writes another “They are all clearly two Earth animals fused together in the most basic way.”

A close-up view through a digital display shows a turtle-like creature with rough, textured skin. The interface labels its species as unknown and the habitat as "lush jungle with predators. — Lucasfilm

A close-up of a large, gray, leopard-like feline with yellow eyes, viewed through a digital visor interface displaying data such as "planet," "species unknown," and "habitat: lush jungle with predators. — Lucasfilm

AI slop refers to the new phenomena of fake imagery created by AI image generators flooding the internet. It has affected Google Search, social media, and stock photo websites.

Bredow heads up ILM, a special effects company founded by George Lucas during the making of the original Star Wars films. Futurism notes that ILM is a pioneer of the industry and has helped bring magic to classic movies including Jurassic Park and Terminator 2.

Bredow insists that the technology is “artist-driven” but AI continues to get a bad rep. So much so that it’s been reported Hollywood is using the technology a lot but afraid to admit it publicly.