By Neil Clarke, Creative Partner at Leagas Delaney
A long time ago in a building not so far away…
… the offices of Leagas Delaney on Shaftesbury Avenue were once home to Industrial light & Magic, the lead VFX studio for Star Wars, responsible for creating some of the most iconic and visually groundbreaking films ever made.
In 2015, they helped create ‘The Force Awakens’, the much-anticipated sequel to ‘The return of the Jedi’. A lot had changed in the 32 years that had passed since Darth Vader finally removed his helmet. Back in 1983, there was no internet – never mind ChatGPT.
The rapid advancement in VFX offered the studio more creative freedom than ever before, allowing them to push the filmic boundaries, using the latest in digital wizardry to generate distant planets, alien lifeforms and super-realistic space battles.
But for all the incredible CGI, the film is remembered for its emotional storytelling and its powerful human narrative, drawing on family and nostalgia, love and loss.
‘The Force Awakens’ went on to receive five Oscar nominations and was the third biggest grossing film of all time, making $2.7 billion. Tech wasn’t the enemy. It was the enabler.
Fast forward to 2025. Inside the walls of Leagas Delaney today, there’s plenty of reminders of our previous Jedi tenants on display. And the cinema George Lucas used for screenings is still in use.
Technology also plays a crucial role in our story. AI is at the heart of everything we do, helping us create smarter work. Many of our clients operating in the luxury sector don’t see AI as a nice to have -they demand it.
But there’s still plenty of creative voices in the industry who think embracing AI is like joining the dark side. Yes, AI can generate hundreds of outputs quicker than you can say “Jabba the Hutt”. But it doesn’t know which one will work best. That’s for us to do. That’s still our job.
Just like it’s the director’s job to decide which Darth Vader meltdown works best. Or which Chewbacca head-punch looks more authentic.
A recent D&AD white paper on creativity and AI brilliantly points out that clients are asking, “Why are we paying full price if you’re using AI?” That’s a wake-up call. We can help clients understand what machines can and can’t do. Why creative leadership matters. And why it’s worth paying for.
As Dave Droga pointed out in Cannes, AI might actually make the work better and get rid of all the really mediocre stuff this industry is responsible for creating.
When Star Wars 10 finally gets released in 2027, no one will give two storm troopers about how it was made. But what they will care about, deeply, is how it made them feel. That’s where us humans come in.
We shouldn’t fear AI.
Because fear leads to anger.
Anger leads to hate.
Hate leads to suffering.
As a wise man once said (not Tim Delaney).
