Fans have reacted with anger after Darren Aronofsky’s AI film studio Primordial Soup shared its new series, produced in partnership with Google DeepMind.
On This Day… 1776 uses DeepMind AI to re-create moments from the American Revolution. Licensed by Time Studios, the first two episodes were released on YouTube yesterday (Thursday January 29) with more coming out throughout 2026.
In July, the US will mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and Aronofsky is one of many public figures who’ll be acknowledging the anniversary this year.
His studio’s partnership with Google DeepMind was first announced last May (via The Hollywood Reporter), with the aim of focusing on new ways to blend storytelling and technology. To that end, On This Day uses a mix of traditional filmmaking tools and AI to tell stories about the Revolutionary War, “reframing the Revolution not as a foregone conclusion but as a fragile experiment shaped by those who fought for it”.
The use of AI in the series has proved controversial, however, with people on social media expressing their unhappiness.
“That’s a wrap on Darren Aronofsky, I never want to hear about this clown again,” said one X (Twitter) user, while another wrote: “Spent most of 2025 going to bat for Darren Aronofsky just to find out he’s an AI-loving dork.”
One fan of Aronofsky’s movies wrote: “Darren Aronofsky went from Requiem For A Dream, Black Swan and Mother! to producing AI-generated shows I’m officially unstanning.”
spent most of 2025 going to bat for Darren Aronofsky, just to find out he’s an ai loving dork pic.twitter.com/NWNORXTEo3
— Marty Normalball (@interiordarts69) January 29, 2026
As a staunch Darren Aronofsky hater I feel vindicated. LOL: pic.twitter.com/RfxhMAmYF9
— Máté 🇪🇺🇺🇦🇪🇺🇵🇸Remember Timoleon of Corinth (@LatvanyMate) January 29, 2026
One posted a screenshot from the series in which the world ‘America’ was misspelt. “This is a screenshot from Darren Aronofsky’s new AI series,” they wrote on X. “Yes that’s supposed to say America on the bottom.”
Another said: “I know my expectations were low but holy fuck Darren Aronofsky producing AI slop wasn’t on my bingo card.”
this is a screenshot from darren aronofsky’s new AI series…….yes that’s supposed to say america on the bottom pic.twitter.com/t30dD4V7zL
— shotgun (@shotgunSM_) January 29, 2026
I know my expectations were low but holy fuck Darren Aronofsky producing AI slop wasn’t on my bingo card. https://t.co/oU5gZy9Glp pic.twitter.com/10Bz8oi6I8
— Nathanael Reyes (@NatReyes96) January 29, 2026
Over on the r/movies subreddit, one user said he “hopes this bombs spectacularly”, another said it “looks like absolute dogshit,” and one more said: “Didn’t this guy literally make the movie Mother, which had some pretty on the nose metaphorical messaging about humans and their awful relationship with the environment?
“Insane to be that guy and then turn around and make an hours long AI slopfest. The absolute irony and hypocrisy. Bro dried up a lake for the grift.”
The comments on the YouTube videos themselves have proved no less relentless, either. “I love the part where at 2:17 where the word AMERICA morphs into MAMERLED and then into AMERICo on the page in one unbroken shot. Phenomenal work, everyone,” said one user, while another wrote: “This is the most unnatural thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It would be more watchable if the cast were amusement park animatronics.”
Elsewhere, Aronofsky’s next project is set to be a collaboration with Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn on an erotic thriller, while he’s also a co-producer of the upcoming horror mystery thriller Pendulum.
NME gave Aronofsky’s latest movie, 2025’s Caught Stealing, a four-star review, saying: “With IDLES on soundtrack duties and Matt Smith playing a mohawked punk, the usually deadly serious auteur’s latest flick offers thrills and spills … If Caught Stealing’s not quite a home run, it is a nail-biter that’ll have you hooked until the final play.”