I ETHICS & LIKENESS

Stan Lee hologram sparks fan debate

A new interactive hologram, "The Stan Lee Experience," premieres this week at L.A. Comic Con, and it's generating significant buzz among Marvel fans.

The project is a collaboration among Kartoon Studios’ Stan Lee Universe, spatial computing company Proto Hologram, and Hyperreal, the studio behind ultra-realistic digital humans, and has been pitched as an immersive tribute to the late Lee.

Yet the news has been met with backlash from Marvel fans, who have taken to social media to label the project “ghoulish” and “distasteful.”

"Even in death, they won't let the guy rest," one wrote on a reddit thread. "It's all pretty dystopian."

"This is wrong and incredibly disrespectful," another wrote. "There's a reason we say 'Rest in Peace’ when someone passes away.”

Creators said the project is intended as a means of paying homage to Lee, and extending his “voice and spirit” to fans.

Bob Sabouni, head of Stan Lee Legacy Programs at Kartoon Studios, wrote in a press release that the project upholds the “integrity” of Lee’s voice.

“We’ll never put words in his mouth,” he said.

Chris DeMoulin, CEO of Comikaze Entertainment, parent company of L.A. Comic Con, told The Deep View the team was hopeful sentiments would change once fans had a chance to experience the hologram for themselves.

“Those of us who helped create this all worked with Stan personally, and we believe it is fun and true to his spirit, and will help extend Stan's legacy to new generations,” he said. “We can't wait to get direct fan feedback on the entire Stan Lee Experience this weekend, and in the future.”

The controversy joins broader debates on the ethics of repurposing likenesses with AI and follows projects like William Shatner’s interactive AI-powered video archive. In 2021, the “Star Trek” icon partnered with StoryFile to let fans ask questions and interact with.