Fake trailers have been dominating YouTube feeds for months, and studios have reportedly been benefiting from these videos. While theaters continue to struggle, several high-profile movies and shows are currently in development, and each is drawing substantial attention from potential viewers. Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the DC Universe’s Superman, and HBO’s The Last of Us are all set to be released in 2025. Trailers for these productions already exist, but none offer more than a few minutes of footage, which is why YouTubers have been using AI to flesh out these brief looks into several different trailers.
According to a report by ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, major Hollywood studios are already aware that these fake trailers are dominating YouTube’s feeds. Rather than demanding that the channels take down the videos, they instead asked that YouTube provide them with a portion of the revenue. While SAG-AFTRA is reportedly upset by the news, calling it a “race to the bottom” that “incentivizes technology companies and short-term gains at the expense of lasting human creative endeavor,” the studios have not offered any comment about the report.
What The Trailer Monetization Means For Hollywood
The Studios Are Not Quite As Restrictive With Copyright
The trailer monetization issue is another element causing tension between SAG-AFTRA and the studios. The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes of 2023 were partly caused by concerns about AI replacing actors and writers, so reports about studios willingly profiting off of AI will likely only inflame those issues. This concern also exists across the industry, as ᴅᴇᴀᴅline named Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney, Sony Pictures, and Paramount as parties who are either profiting off of the videos or refusing to file strikes against the YouTubers involved.
Trailers even exist for movies that have not yet finished filming.
Without any studio interest in filing these copyright strikes, these trailers will likely only continue to be produced, despite potentially involving legitimate infringement of Intellectual Property rights. That can confuse viewers who visit YouTube to search for high-quality footage, only to find images created through artificial intelligence alone. Trailers even exist for movies that have not yet finished filming, as Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey already has trailers available, despite no official footage existing. YouTube even hosts trailers for The Batman 2, which will not begin filming until later in the year.
Our Take On The Fake Trailers
They Are Inherently Confusing To Audiences
Videos focusing on fake scenarios can be compelling pieces of media that fall under fair use protections, but many of the fake trailers on YouTube pretend to be the real studio’s content. Screen Culture‘s тιтles, for instance, never state that the trailers are fan-made, which means that audiences can confuse them for real footage, which can hinder the reputation of these studios. The fake trailers are inherently confusing, which is what makes it so surprising that the studios allegedly approve. If the studios refuse to stop the deluge of false footage, then YouTube’s search function will continue to suffer.
Source: ᴅᴇᴀᴅline
