{"id":300984,"date":"2025-11-19T10:27:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T10:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/300984\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T10:27:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T10:27:18","slug":"alberto-mielgo-defends-the-marathon-cinematic-as-not-ai-denies-his-team-touched-bungies-plagiarized-material-and-calls-the-art-theft-incident-a-genuine-mistake-that-was","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/300984\/","title":{"rendered":"Alberto Mielgo defends the Marathon cinematic as \u201cnot AI,\u201d denies his team touched Bungie\u2019s plagiarized material and calls the art theft incident a genuine mistake that was \u201cblown out of proportion\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marathon cinematic short director, Alberto Mielgo, speaks up about the AI questions and the plagiarism scandal tied to the game, calling the situation a genuine mistake that\u2019s been blown out of proportion.<\/p>\n

When Bungie<\/a> showed off Marathon gameplay<\/a> in April, one of the biggest talking points was not just the gunplay or extraction setup, but the stunning cinematic short that came with it. Directed by Oscar-winning artist Alberto Mielgo, the film quickly became a fan favorite, with people praising its style, animation, and how well it set the tone for this Marathon reboot.<\/p>\n

Since then, though, Marathon has been dragged into an art theft scandal. Independent artist Fern \u201cAntireal\u201d Hook accused Bungie of using her work without permission<\/a> in in-game assets for the Closed Alpha build<\/a>, and Bungie later admitted<\/a> that a former artist had checked her designs into the project as part of a texture sheet and apologized<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"AlbertoImage: Bungie<\/p>\n

That created a lot of heat around the game\u2019s visuals in general. Now Mielgo has weighed in on a different concern that has been floating around the cinematic itself, making it clear that the cinematic short is not AI generated and that his team did not touch any of the plagiarized material at the center of the controversy.<\/p>\n

Alberto Mielgo says the Marathon cinematic short is not AI generated<\/p>\n

The new comments come from Alberto Mielgo\u2019s Instagram account, where he posted<\/a> stills from the Marathon<\/a> cinematic and addressed people who assumed the film was made with AI tools. In the caption, he pushes back hard on that idea, stressing how many people worked on the project and how long it took.<\/p>\n

Mielgo explains that everything in the film was created by human artists and production staff. That includes paintings, animation, 2D and 3D work, compositing, and rendering, all built by a team of 155 people over months of work. He also talks a bit about AI more broadly, saying he does not really know what his overall stance is, but he is sure of one thing: \u201cAI will never take away my (your) urge or joy for making art and painting. That part will never be replaced.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his post caption, Mielgo writes:<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe we\u2019ve reached a point where I have to clarify this, but here it goes: this is not AI. Hello.
Everything you see in this film: paintings, animations, 2D and 3D work, compositing, and renders done with huge team \u2014 155 incredible people and hell of hours, days, months\u2026 Yes, our Achilles\u2019 heel: time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly love this little film. Many of you ask me what my opinion on AI is\u2026 Honestly, I have no idea. But one thing is certain: AI will never take away my (your) urge or joy for making art and painting. That part will never be replaced. (This text was kindly edited with ChatGPT)\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AlbertoImage: Bungie<\/p>\n

Under that same post, one user asked a question about the earlier art theft controversy around Marathon, bringing up the fact that a number of in-game assets had been found to be stolen and plagiarized, and asking how Mielgo felt about Bungie giving his team stolen work to build on. It now appears that the original comment has been deleted by the person who wrote it, but screenshots of Mielgo\u2019s replies are still circulating.<\/p>\n

First, he answered in a short, sharp comment that shows how annoyed he is with the whole discussion. He says what he hates most is spending years working hard on something, only for the final result to be \u201ceclipsed\u201d by what he calls \u201csphincter smelly press and headline readers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you know what I hate the most? Working our asses off for years to create something cool, only for it to get eclipsed by sphincter smelly press and headline readers,\u201d Mielgo replied. \u201cGo whistle around.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a longer comment directed at the same person, Mielgo then goes into more detail about how he sees the plagiarism story and how it connects to his team.<\/p>\n

\"AlbertoImage: Instagram<\/p>\n

In a longer follow-up reply to the same user, Mielgo goes deeper on his view of the situation. He accuses the commenter of wanting to stir up controversy and calls them \u201cthe whistleblower, the truth seeker.\u201d He says they are wrong and misinformed, and that from what he understands, Bungie accidentally used a texture that was \u201cmostly typos and text, all lost in a wonderful massive creative pipeline.\u201d <\/p>\n

He characterizes it as a genuine mistake that has been blown out of proportion by critics and by what he calls \u201chungry sphincter press.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also draws a clear line between that texture issue and the work done on his cinematic short. Mielgo says that none of the text or fonts in question ever reached his team. He goes on to say that the Bungie team he worked with was fantastic, that the work they did before his group was brought in was \u201cf*****g outstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AlbertoImage: Instagram<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand that you like to stir up controversy, so here you go: the whistleblower, the truth seeker. This is my account, so here\u2019s how I actually feel: you\u2019re wrong and misinformed,\u201d Mielgo replied. \u201cNo assets. As far as I know, Bungie accidentally used a texture, mostly typos and fonts, all lost in a wonderful massive creative pipeline. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll this ass it was genuinely a mistake, blown out of proportion by people like you and hungry sphincter press. Regardless, to your pseudowistle, none of the text\/fonts ever reached our team. The Bungie team is fantastic, and the work they did before us was f****ng outstanding. I loved working with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

This new statement lands while Bungie is still trying to steady Marathon after months of bad press and delayed development. The studio has acknowledged art theft, delayed the game<\/a> out of its original 2025 date, and run a closed technical test<\/a> with around 80,000 players<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Marathon\"Image: Bungie<\/p>\n

The Game Post has also exclusively reported<\/a> that Bungie is working on a new ViDoc for Marathon that should arrive soon, which is expected to give players a new look at core systems<\/a>, visual changes and the current state of the game after these tests<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What do you think about Mielgo\u2019s comments on AI and the art theft controversy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!<\/p>\n

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