Director Gore Verbinski: Unreal Engine is the greatest slip backwards for movie
Recorded: Jan. 21, 2026, 11:03 a.m.
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Director Gore Verbinski says Unreal Engine is 'the greatest slip backwards' for movie CGI | PC Gamer
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PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don't miss these AI Graphics Cards Assassin's Creed Third Person Shooter RPG AI Gaming Monitors Third Person Shooter Graphics Cards Graphics Cards RPG AI AI RPG AI PopularCES 2026GOTY AwardsBest PC gearArc RaidersPC Gamer Quizzes! Movies & TV Director Gore Verbinski says Unreal Engine is 'the greatest slip backwards' for movie CGI News By published 21 January 2026 Do visual effects look worse than they used to? The director of Pirates of the Caribbean says Unreal is the culprit. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Disney) Share Share by: Copy link X Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Remember the glory days of CGI in movies? Terminator 2's liquid metal T-1000, Jurassic Park's stunning dinosaurs, Starship Trooper's swarms of giant arachnids. Not only did the CGI look great then, most of the visual effects in those movies still hold up well today, even decades after they were created.Nowadays, movie fans seem much less impressed by CGI in films. There's a general distaste for a perceived overuse of CGI in favor of practical effects, and there are a lot of complaints that recent CGI is less-convincing and more fake-looking than it used to be, even in the biggest budget films.In an interview with But Why Tho?, Gore Verbinski, director of The Ring, Rango, and the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, was asked why visual effects in movies just don't look as good as they used to. Related articles Disney's embarrassing AI-generated Star Wars video of scrambled-up animals was the opening salvo in a year full of AI humiliation Astarion actor Neil Newbon doesn't get why games like Arc Raiders using 'dull as hell' AI for voice work don't 'go back and actually redo the lines with actors' once they make it big 'Every game company is now using AI': Nexon's CEO defends the use of generative AI in game development in the wake of Arc Raiders' controversy "I think the simplest answer is you’ve seen the Unreal gaming engine enter the visual effects landscape," Verbinski said. "So it used to be a divide, with Unreal Engine being very good at video games, but then people started thinking maybe movies can also use Unreal for finished visual effects. So you have this sort of gaming aesthetic entering the world of cinema."Unreal Engine made waves after being used for virtual sets in production of The Mandalorian TV series back in 2020, and usage of the engine has grown more widespread in films over the past few years, such as in The Matrix Resurrections and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.That's not good news, according to Verbinski. "I think that Unreal Engine coming in and replacing Maya as a sort of fundamental is the greatest slip backwards," he said.He pointed out the types of visual effects made with Unreal aren't necessarily bad. "It works with Marvel movies where you kind of know you’re in a heightened, unrealistic reality. I think it doesn’t work from a strictly photo-real standpoint," he said.The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware dealsKeep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over."I just don’t think it takes light the same way; I don’t think it fundamentally reacts to subsurface, scattering, and how light hits skin and reflects in the same way," he said. "So that’s how you get this uncanny valley when you come to creature animation, a lot of in-betweening is done for speed instead of being done by hand."In his new movie, science fiction comedy Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, which will be released in theaters in February, Verbinski says he uses CGI, but "we try to be really strict with making at least 50% of the frame photographic. I think that keeps you honest. You can use props as a reference, and when you see the CG replacement, you know how to replicate the real thing," he said.2026 games: All the upcoming gamesBest PC games: Our all-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together Christopher LivingstonSocial Links NavigationSenior EditorChris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own. Show More Comments You must confirm your public display name before commenting Logout Read more Disney's embarrassing AI-generated Star Wars video of scrambled-up animals was the opening salvo in a year full of AI humiliation
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Director Gore Verbinski’s assessment of Unreal Engine’s entry into the movie visual effects landscape as “the greatest slip backwards” reflects a deep-seated concern about the evolving aesthetic of CGI in cinema. As outlined in the article, Verbinski, a veteran of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and known for his meticulous approach to visual effects, recognizes a fundamental shift occurring with the widespread adoption of Unreal Engine. He argues that Unreal, originally designed for video games, is bringing a distinctly “gaming aesthetic” into film, an aesthetic he finds ultimately detrimental to the quality and believability of CGI. The core of Verbinski’s argument revolves around the perceived differences in how Unreal Engine and traditional cinematic visual effects techniques interact with light and subsurface scattering. He specifically points out that Unreal’s current approach, driven by speed and efficiency, often results in a flatter, less nuanced representation of these elements compared to the painstaking, hand-crafted methods previously employed by studios. This, in turn, leads to what he describes as an “uncanny valley” effect, particularly in creature animation, where the slight imperfections become more pronounced and detract from the overall realism. He acknowledges that Unreal can work effectively in films where a heightened, unrealistic reality is acceptable, such as in Marvel movies. However, he firmly believes it doesn't possess the same capacity for photo-realism. Verbinski's statement highlights a broader tension within the industry about the role of technology in artistic creation. The article indicates that Unreal Engine’s rapid integration into film production represents a move towards a more streamlined, iterative process, which he sees as sacrificing artistic control and the nuanced understanding of light and material properties that were integral to the best-regarded visual effects in the past. Prior to Unreal’s rise, CGI productions focused on recreating the world precisely as it is, carefully crafting every detail to adhere to the rules of physics and perception. Furthermore, Verbinski’s use of the phrase “the greatest slip backwards” indicates a nostalgia for a time when visual effects felt more fundamentally rooted in the human process of creation. He emphasizes the importance of deliberate, hand-crafted work, suggesting that a move towards automated, algorithm-driven techniques will inevitably lead to a decline in the quality and artistry of CGI. The decision to “try to be really strict with making at least 50% of the frame photographic” in his current film, *Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die*, underscores his continued commitment to this approach and aims to balance the benefits of CGI with the advantages of maintaining a photo-realistic appearance. In essence, Verbinski’s commentary isn’t simply a critique of Unreal Engine itself, but a poignant reflection on a broader shift in the creative process within the film industry – a shift that he views as potentially detrimental to the very essence of compelling and believable visual effects. |