Apple Vision Pro gets Harry Potter upgrade, Netflix’s tricky new AI rules for film & TV
HBO Max leans on Hogwarts to sell its Apple hardware experience, while Netflix quietly rewrites the rules of Hollywood with AI.
Just in time for the premiere of Season 2 of John Cena’s Peacemaker DC superhero series, HBO Max has launched a new immersive environment for the world of Harry Potter on its Apple Vision Pro app. I powered up my Apple Vision Pro and dove into the fully immersive setting, which places you in the middle of the Hogwarts Great Hall, allowing you to watch any film or television show on the iconic set.
As usual in the device’s immersive environments, your hands are visible and can interact with the menu interface, and when you start a movie, the Hogwarts Great Hall shifts into night mode, which is one of the more magical settings in any app environment I’ve used on the device. This free enhancement to the HBO Max app (subscriptions start at $9.99 a month) on Apple Vision Pro comes just as production on the streaming series version of Harry Potter recently kicked off, with an entirely new cast and is set to debut on the streaming service and on HBO in 2027.
Lights, Camera, Automation
Netflix made waves last month when its CEO, Ted Sarandos, revealed that its streaming series The Eternaut had used generative AI in the production of a key special effects scene. That revelation put many in the VFX industry on notice, with some rushing to adopt AI, while others criticized the rise of the new technology in Hollywood's creative realm.
Now, in anticipation of upcoming issues surrounding productions that embrace these AI tools too enthusiastically, Netflix has issued a new set of guidelines for its show and film producers.
Titled “Using Generative AI in Content Production,” the guidelines hit on six key points, and in half of those cases, Netflix requires creators to contact the company for legal consultation before moving ahead with their AI use. And while the traditional VFX industry faces the biggest threat from rapidly improving Gen AI, the most significant detail in the document relates to how human actors are treated.
“If creating a Digital Replica (i.e., a generated output recognizable as the voice and/or likeness of an identifiable performer for the purpose of portraying them in photography or soundtrack, they did not perform), consent is required,” reads the guideline. However, “No further consent is needed to use the Digital Replica if the performance output: (1) remains substantially as scripted, performed, or recorded (e.g. reshoots); (2) depicts activities incapable of being performed by a human for safety reasons; or (3) results in the performer being unrecognizable (e.g. wearing a mask).”
The wording there is vague and provides a lot of wiggle room for filmmakers, but as I read it, I see two significant decisions here: Clause 2 appears to allow filmmakers to do away with human stunt actors (as many feared), and Clause 3, could particularly affect superhero character productions (masks, etc.) and science fiction content (humanoid creatures, helmeted characters, etc.). Much of the discussion around the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike focused on actors retaining the rights to their likenesses, but it seems that some involved didn’t think far enough into the future to envision a situation where entire productions might be possible with minimal involvement of recognizable celebrity and character human actors.
Also, using Digital Replicas in other cases is indeed possible, but with caveats. “Using Gen AI for talent replication (re-ageing, or synthetic voices)… requires escalation for consent and legal review,” the document explains. There are also strong warnings against productions using AI training data that contains copyrighted work, celebrity faces, and Netflix's proprietary content (of course). Netflix also advises its film and TV producers to be careful about using AI to “generate background elements (e.g., signage, posters) that appear on camera.”
The only area in which Netflix gives an entirely free pass to use AI with no legal consultation whatsoever is when creatives use AI to create moodboards and reference images. This would presumably include storyboards, a key element of most film and TV productions, and a potentially massive erasure of work for the many concept artists and storyboard artists who have visualized many of the onscreen worlds viewers have become familiar with. Based on my anecdotal experience, the current beachhead for rapid AI adoption in major film and TV productions is in animation, so storyboard artists are facing similar challenges in terms of human-made visual art opportunities within the industry.
Overall, Netflix’s seemingly strict guidelines carve out a fairly broad margin for AI use in film and TV productions. From stunt actors to storyboard artists, the Netflix directives are more focused on protecting their legal position rather than offering any cover to the traditional film and TV workers, which, as a public company, is its mission, after all.
But just like streaming subscription prices, which seem to inch up every few quarters (Apple TV+ just jumped 30% from $10 to $13), when it comes to public companies like Netflix, always expect the line to be pushed further in pursuit of a higher share price. These guidelines are not sacrosanct or set in stone. Therefore, everyone in Hollywood should prepare themselves as necessary for the additional rapid changes AI promises to bring in the next 24 months.
BONUS: Not so fast, AI! One of the biggest Hollywood productions currently in progress, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, coming in 2026, is still fully committed to practical effects for some of its most important scenes, as detailed in these leaked set videos.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Just Mercy), a lot about the film harkens back to the old school framing of the character, moving away from Tony Stark’s nanotechnology-Spidey suit, and giving fans a down-to-earth take on the world of Peter Parker. Nevertheless, take a good look, because in just a few years, these kinds of risky stunts may soon be nothing more than nostalgic memories.