AI Art Archives - Screen Wolf

Skynet 3.0

Time for the final part of my Terminator movie pitch (Part ONE and TWO here). This is the one that every Terminator fan wanted to see ever since the first film came out. How John Connor lead the resistance to defeat Skynet. This is the story that Salvation messed up by taking the focus away from John. This is, at long last, his story and moment to shine. In some ways though it’s the easiest entry since we have a start point and an end. That ending of course is the beginning of the original film. A twist that I would have tried to keep under wraps but have been upfront about for this article. A lot of the fine details here, are not so important for this article, so we’ll skip a lot.

Thanks to his work in the previous movie John has an active global communication system. He’s been able to inform survivors of what they are up against and what to expect. While he no longer has Sarah or Kyle with him, he has their knowledge and their strength. Both likely will make appearance in flashbacks, especially Sarah in her last days. Sarah will have died from the radiation in Skynet’s core, but not before passing on a few motivational words. With this he able to turn things around. Originally Skynet caught the humans by surprise and mostly wiped them out before they were able to organise themselves. This time though they are ready to fight back and with their communication system organise on a large scale.

Rise of a Nemesis

With no information in it’s database about John Connor, Skynet becomes frustrated with his successful resistance. The AI forms a deep emotional hatred for John and this provides the resistance with a weakness to exploit. This gives the story an extra layer. Perhaps the job of “The chosen one” is really just about focusing the attention of your enemy. The truth is no one man could stop Skynet, but one man certainly can distract it. The strength of the resistance forces the AI to come up with new tactics. This includes the Terminator infiltration and assassination units (It pursues this instead of microbots/swarm technology).

As Skynet becomes more desperate it is able to recover some of the deleted files left by the Swarm. Amongst the data is the design for Dyson’s time machine. Potentially the data is incomplete and has to be extracted from this timelines Dyson, but that depends on if we want a hybrid Dyson Terminator running around (Could be fun). From here, I think you can guess where it goes. Obviously during the story John meets Kyle again and this John did know the man growing up. That changes the dynamic, but John decides to keep their history from Kyle. When faced with a Terminator being sent back in time to kill his mother however, he realizes it has gone full circle and makes the call to send Kyle back.

Skynet’s Tactics

The difficulty with time travel is how the rules deal with paradoxes. If we are looking at alternative timelines, Skynet can’t actually change it’s present. When Dyson developed his machine, he was desperate and perhaps felt any chance was better than none. Skynet however would have a more logical approach and likely considered he’d not impact his own fate. So Skynet has two possible motivations. First of all as an AI perhaps it doesn’t consider alternative versions of itself to be separate entities, so if one survives that is all that matters. The second choice is perhaps more tactical.

We could have Skynet not just plan to send the T800 to kill Sarah Connor but also have it place within the Terminators CPU a compressed version of itself. See, Skynet would predict that whether the Terminator succeeded or not, it would leave it’s technology in the past and that would likely jumpstart an AI project. Since the scientists of the day would barely understand the tech, Skynet could leave a fragment it’s own program as a sort of Trojan so once they created an AI with that technology this Skynet would automatically merge with it. This would give it a technological and tactical advantage. The kind of thing that leads to developing a T1000 Terminator.

Smashing The Defence Grid

While we basically know what happens here, we have a few details to take care of. The “Defence Grid” for me represents a network Skynet uses to control its machines around the globe. This can be the same network that John hacked to give the resistance a chance. Taking it down requires an assault on Skynet’s control centre. With that gone Skynet only has control of a few of it’s units and cannot create more. The trick here is making sure we set things up so that both sides can only send one fighter back into the past: The T800 and Kyle Reese.

Perhaps fearing Skynet will send more back, the resistance sabotage the device. With Terminators bearing down on them they can only spare one fighter. That dealt with we could end on John having a final conversation with Skynet. With the time machine destroyed Skynet reveals it’s actual plan knowing John can’t stop it. John destroys the AI, but is left wondering “What about the next time?”

The End…

One of the fun things with the titles of these movies is that each version of Skynet is actually represented. Skynet 3.0 refers to the one that is effectively created by sending the T800 back. It’s worth noting that this new Skynet probably would have won the war if not for its obsession with John Connor. This obsession lead it to send it’s top weapon (The T1000) back to destroy him. In doing so it gave humanity a chance to reroll the dice once again (Depending on your view of causality at least). After the events of T2, it’s worth noting the Cyberdyne scientist/CEO and original Skynet creator would still be on the table. To emphasize that we could throw in a post credit scene, set after the events of T2. I like the idea of dropping in scenes from the first two movies in the credits as part of that build up.

Where Next?

This trilogy would open the door to either continue this timeline (Perhaps by leaving Skynet still active or at least some of it’s minions) or to return to the world post T2. However it doesn’t need to do either. The ending can be more definitive and the post credit scene (If included at all) can just as easily be considered a nod to why the events of T3 and Salvation happened despite the events of T2. While I feel it is important to repair the damage done to the franchise at the roots, after that it would be interesting to make a more radical shift.

Since this trilogy would give a clear break from Arnold and a rest from the T800, the next film after the Skynet trilogy could return to focusing on the T800, but with a new actor in the role (Moving forward they shouldn’t rely on one actor as a recurring T800). The story then would shift to a new time period. Either Skynet is trying to alter a part of history (or seed it’s creation in multiple timelines) or the time machine just doesn’t work as well as previous thought and occasionally a T800 ends up in Feudal Japan or something like that.

A New Beginning?

Alternatively we could see a future where Skynet was just shut down due to humanity figuring out the danger it presented. That Skynet could be re-activated but without control of nukes or large scale construction facilities it has to be a lot more covert in trying to end humanity. Perhaps that Skynet has access to a T800 from a different timeline that ended up stranded. There are plenty of potential stories to tell that would be very different from what we’ve seen so far. What if some time after defeating Skynet aliens invaded Earth and the only way to fight them was to reactivate some Terminators?

The point is, you have time travel, you have robots, cyborgs and AI and you don’t really have any limitations within science fiction. There are always new stories to tell, you just need the imagination to tell them and the bravery to break away from the T2 template.

So while “Noirvember” may be over (Meaning November, the month I traditionally watch and review Film Noir I haven’t seen yet), throughout the month I’ve been feeding amusing prompts to Stable Diffusion (An AI art generator) and it seems appropriate to cap off the month by sharing these. This is basically The Avengers and related Marvel Superheroes re-imagined as if the films were being made around 1950 and done for some unknown reason as a hybrid style with Film Noir. Yes it makes no sense whatsoever, especially as most of these heroes weren’t created until the 1960’s or later, but I thought it was fun. So let’s have a look at the cast.

Humphrey Bogart as Iron Man

This is an obvious choice for me. The truth is Bogart is at 5’8”, actually a bit short for Tony Stark, but it doesn’t really matter since the kind of powerful, confident performances Humphrey put out there pretty much makes people just assume he was tall. Certainly I couldn’t pick anyone else for the role as the genius businessman and inventor turned Superhero alcoholic. Bogart of course is most famous for playing “Sam Spade” in the “Maltese Falcon” (1941) and “Rick Blaine” in “Casablanca” (1942), but appeared in many Noirs likely to be seen on top 10 and top 20 lists including “The Big Sleep” (1946), “Dark Passage” (1947) and “In a Lonely place” (1950). The man is a legend and one of the most famous actors of all time.

Glenn Ford as Captain America

Glenn Ford’s most famous Film Noir roles are “Gilda” (1946) and “The Big Heat” (1953). In both he played edgy determined characters that never gave up or backed down. Seems perfect for Captain America. Ford of course actually does have Superhero pedigree, having played Jonathan Kent in “Superman” (1978) and in that film became the man that gave Superman his moral foundation. Still not convinced? Well he also signed up for military service on three separate occasions, refused promotions offered (he thought) for his fame and not service and was frustrated at being kept out of combat.

Sterling Hayden as Thor

At an impressive 6’5” Sterling Hayden has the perfect frame to play the mighty Thor. His looks are just about right too. Hayden’s has strong Noir pedigree including: “The Asphalt Jungle” (1950) “Crime Wave” (1953), “The Come On” (1956) and most famously Stanley Kubrick’s “The Killing” (1956). Of those I have to admit to only having seen the first and the last, but I’ll get to the others soon enough! Sterling was also in the running for my Captain America, but I figured it wouldn’t make sense to cast someone as Cap in 1950 that had been a member of the Communist party (Albeit briefly).

Rita Hayworth as Black Widow

Naturally hair colour isn’t that obvious when it comes to black and white, but there are still a few actresses from the genre famous for their red hair and I wanted one of them for Black Widow. Lucille Ball dabbled in Film Noir with 1946’s “The Dark Corner” (1946), but as great as she is there really is only one actress that for the role, Gilda herself, Rita Hayworth. You can see the AI decided to give her red hair in one of the picture regardless of being in black and white and it looks great. Along with “Gilda” (1946) she was also in the Orson Welles’ classic “The Lady from Shanghai” (1947) and “Affair in Trinidad” (1952). If you don’t like the choice, put the blame on mame.

Edward G. Robinson as The Incredible Hulk

I wanted Edward G to factor in somewhere along the line and I thought it’d a fun choice for the Hulk so here we are. Although more famous for his gangster movies of the 1930’s (Especially “Little Caesar” (1931)), Robinson appeared in quite a few Film Noirs, including one of my personal favourites “Scarlett Street” (1945). He also appeared opposite Orson Welles in “The Stranger” (1956) and had a supporting role in one of the most famous Noirs of all time (Indeed number one on many lists), “Double Indemnity” (1944). Robinson often plays intelligent vulnerable men with a dark burden and aggressive angry men out to prove themselves. Works pretty well in the role for me

Dana Andrews as Hawkeye

Dana’s most famous Noir is “Laura” (1944), but he appeared in several including “Fallen Angel” (1945) and “Where the Sidewalk Ends” (1950). On top of that he was the protagonist in the Horror classic “Night of the Demon” (1957) and played Lt. Ted Stryker in the movie “Zero Hour!” (1957), a mostly forgotten movie outside the fact it was remade into a comedy in 1980, that comedy would be called “Airplane!”. Yes, he was the original Stryker. Andrews definitely deserves a spot on the team. Hawkeye is as good as any.

James Cagney as Nick Fury

Art AI’s can’t do eyepatches to save their uh… programming. But anyway when casting Nick Fury (The original Nick Fury, not the “Ultimate” version, who was basically always Sam Jackson even before the movies), I wanted a veteran that would be a bit older than the rest of the cast and play the elder statesman. Cagney is perfect. Not only is he one of the greatest on screen badasses in movie history he managed to find his way into a couple of Film Noirs late in his career. The fantastic “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” (1950) and the absolute classic “White Heat” (1949). It’s a shame the AI couldn’t do the picture any better, but you try getting one to draw an eye patch on someone!

Harry Belafonte as Falcon

The truth is there isn’t a huge amount of choice for black Film Noir stars, but there are a couple of really good ones . The first is Harry Belafonte, primarily a musician but also a pretty good actor. He starred in and produced the Film Noir classic “Odds Against Tomorrow” (1959) and the often overlooked post apocalyptic drama “The World, the Flesh and the Devil” (1959). Outside of his music and acting careers Belafonte was an important member of the civil rights movement, making him the perfect person for Falcon. I have no idea why the AI drew a rocket ship on that last picture, but I still like the picture.

Lauren Bacall as The Scarlet Witch

I decided not to go with a natural red head for Scarlet Witch as I really wanted to get a role for Lauren Bacall and I figured she’d look good dressed as Wanda. The AI generated pictures seem to agree so I feel it was a good move. Lauren of course is most famous for her work with Humphrey Bogart (So I should probably have cast her as Pepper Potts, but I needed a Wanda), including the classics “To Have and to Have Not” (1944), “The Big Sleep” (1946) and “Dark Passage” (1947).

Orson Welles as THANOS

Could it be anybody else? Orson Welles is perhaps the ultimate movie villain actor. This is why when casting the voice of “Unicron” in “Transformers the Movie” (1986) there was only ever one choice. But his villains in Film Noir include “Professor Charles Rankin” in “The Stranger” (1946), the legendary “Harry Lime” in “The Third Man” (1949) and “Captain Hank Quinlan” in “Touch of Evil” (1958). Three of the most memorable villains in the genre. So Naturally only he could be Thanos and it helps that he sort of has the right look for the character too. These pictures sort of show degrees of morph between Thanos and Welles but they all look cool.

Sidney Poitier as Black Panther

This is another obvious one. cis a legend whose most famous film is the neo-noir “In the Heat of the Night” from 1967. However, he was actually in a couple of proper Film Noirs (i.e. ones between 1940-1959) too, ” No Way Out” (1950) and “Edge of the City” (1957). While not the first black actor in Hollywood to lead a mainstream movie (That would be Sam Lucas way back in 1914) he was arguably the first to become a true movie star. For decades he was the symbol of what could be achieved by a talented and determined black actor and he inspired generations of actors that followed in his footsteps. Oh and he wasn’t just dealing with racial prejudice, in an era ruled by musicals he couldn’t sing due to being tone deaf.

Barbara Stanwyck as The Wasp

You can’t do Film Noir casting without having Barbara Stanwyck involved somewhere. I haven’t actually cast Ant Man (Maybe if I do a part two some time), but back in the 80’s when I was regularly reading Marvel comics I preferred The Wasp anyway. Barbara is most famous for being the most famous of all femme fatale in “Double Indemnity” (1944), but she has appeared in a large number of Film Noirs including: “The Strange Love of Martha Ivers” (1946), “The Two Mrs. Carrolls” (1947), “Sorry, Wrong Number” (1948), “The File on Thelma Jordon” (1949), “Clash by Night” (1952) and “Witness to Murder” (1954). If there is a Queen of Noir it is Barbara Stanwyck. I think part of what made her so great was her ability to play broken and flawed women and if you know the comics, you know that does somewhat resemble The Wasp.

Robert Mitchum as Doctor Strange

Another actor that I simply had to include is Robert Mitchum, but it helped that he actually looks perfect for the part of Doctor Strange. At 6’1” he is no Asgardian but tall enough to look imposing and Mitchum’s intense features and world weary eyes really make me thinks of the Sorcerer Supreme (Which will always be Doctor Strange as far as I’m concerned). Mitchum’s biggest Noir roles are “Out of the Past” (1947) and “Night of the Hunter” (1955), but he appeared in a huge number including: “Crossfire” (1947), The Big Steal (1949), Where Danger Lives (1950), The Racket (1951), Macao (1952) and Angel Face (1952). He also took on the mantle of Phillip Marlowe in the 1970’s with “Farwell My Lovely” (1975) and “The Big Sleep” (1978).

Peter Lorre as Loki

Peter Lorre is another legendary Film Noir actor and I couldn’t help but feel he would actually be perfect as Loki (At least if you ignore that he is 5’3”). If anyone was born to play a trickster god it is probably Lorre. The AI seemed to agree because it did a great job with him. Peter’s first villainous role of note was in a sort of Proto-Noir, the Fritz Lang masterpiece “M” (1931), but he went on to appear in what many consider the first official Noir “Stranger on the Third Floor” (1940) and followed that up with the “The Maltese Falcon” (1941) and “Casablanca” (1942) along with a several more Noirs over the next decade. On top of this, he is in one of my favourite comedies of all time “Arsenic and Old Lace” (1944).

Sydney Greenstreet as Odin

After I cast Peter Lorre as Loki really it was no decision at all to cast Sydney Greenstreet as Odin. Though I have to admit he also looks a bit like Prince Vultan from Flash Gordon here, but I’m happy with it. Sydney of course appeared alongside Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre in The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. After the success of those movies the studio naturally tried to pair as many of them together again as possible and so Sydney went on to do “The Mask of Dimitrious” (1944) and “Three Strangers” (1946) with Lorre and “Conflict” (1945) with Bogart.

Robert Ryan as Red Skull.

Another Film Noir regular, though he played a mixture of protagonist and antagonist I thought he would make a good Red Skull. I’m not sure if these pictures are still recognisable as Ryan but they do look pretty cool. Ryan’s noirs include: Crossfire (1947), “The Set Up” (1949), Clash By Night (1952), and “Odds Against Tomorrow” (1959). His characters were often brash, bitter and aggressive. Not the perfect fit for Red Skull but it’ll do.

Richard Conte as The Kingpin

I really wanted to throw another villain into the mix and one that made a lot of sense to me is Richard Conte as The Kingpin. Conte has played several evil mob bosses over the years perhaps more famously in “The Godfather” (1972) as Don Corleone’s rival, Barzini. But he also played crime bosses in the Film Noir’s “Cry of the City” and “The Big Combo” (1955). All of which make him the perfect pick for this role. His other Noir’s include “Somewhere in the Night” (1946) and “The Sleeping City” (1950), “The Blue Gardenia” (1953), “The Big Tip off” (1955).

John Garfield as Spider-Man

Last but not least, I had to add a Spider-Man. Even though he is my favourite superhero, he wasn’t my focus for this little exercise in AI creativity. However I felt that John Garfield would be a good pick (especially given he shares a surname with an actual Spider-Man actor). Garfield was an actor famous for playing brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. Not that Spidey is really a brooder, but can be pretty rebellious and is definitely working-class. His roles in Film Noir include “The Postman Always Rings Twice” (1946), “Body and Soul” (1947), “Force of Evil” (1948) and “Jigsaw” (1949).

Marvel Noir movie poster, apparently for a new hero called “Marnorr”.

That’s All Folks

I hope this was an amusing bit of randomness for you. I figure whether you enjoy Film Noir, AI Art or Marvel Superheroes there is something here to amuse you. I didn’t originally intend to make this a post, but after generating so many imagines I thought it would be nice to share

Tag: AI Art

Terminator – The Skynet Trilogy (Pitch) – Part 3.