Guillermo del Toro said ‘Absolutely No Goddamn AI’ in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ 3D Re-Release: ‘We’re Protecting a Lineage of Art’

Guillermo del Toro had one rule when bringing “Pan’s Labyrinth” back to theaters for its 20th anniversary: “No goddamn AI.”

The filmmaker returned to San Diego Comic-Con to discuss the film’s 20th anniversary, which returns to theaters Oct. 9 in 3D and HDR for the first time.

The filmmaker said he converted “Pan’s Labyrinth” into 3D by hand and opted not to use AI.

“Obviously I said, ‘Absolutely no goddamn AI,’” he said, which was met with the audience’s applause. “What we’re protecting is the beauty and the redeeming power of art. It’s not about who gets the job. We are protecting a lineage of art. If we cut a generation of people from learning their craft, you’re cutting the rest of the history of that medium away from them for what?”

When doing the conversion, del Toro said he had two options: to do it quick, or to do it good.