‘Star Wars: Beyond the Outer Rim’ — Can ChatGPT write Star Wars?
Can ChatGPT actually write a Star Wars film?
I decided to check that. So I asked it for a new Star Wars film: “Give me a one paragraph synopsis.”
Here’s what it came up with:
“Star Wars: Beyond the Outer Rim” — As the known galaxy enjoys a hard-fought peace, an exploration ship from the New Republic goes missing in the uncharted territories of the Outer Rim. A ragtag team of explorers, smugglers, and a disillusioned Jedi are assembled for a daring rescue mission. They stumble upon a primitive world, rich in a unique, raw form of the Force, and its inhabitants unknowingly on the precipice of a technological revolution spurred by the Dark Side. The team must make an impossible choice: to interfere and risk a galactic war, or allow the birth of a new dark power.
Sounds like a good start so far. Let’s see how far we can take this.
Give me a character list, please, ChatGPT!
“Star Wars: Beyond the Outer Rim” Characters:
Captain Lorin Ando — The charismatic and resourceful captain of the rescue team.
Kayla Ren — A disillusioned Jedi, seeking redemption and clarity beyond the Outer Rim.
Tarrick — A clever and shifty smuggler who brings local knowledge and comic relief.
G’huun — A native of the primitive world, G’huun is caught between his people’s traditions and the allure of the Dark Side.
Chancellor Mon Mothma — The leader of the New Republic, making tough decisions that could impact the galaxy’s peace.
Before I proceed to the meat of the film, let’s take a look at that character list.
All the descriptions are basically borrowed in style from other books, scripts, both good and bad, no doubt.
The question is, why choose a certain personality for a character? In a good script, there must be a reason for it. Let’s take Kayla Ren, “A disillusioned Jedi, seeking redemption and clarity beyond the outer rim”.
You would write about disillusionment if you had something to say about it. Do you, the writer, want to talk about what it feels like when everything you believed in failed you? Or do you want to talk about what it’s like to come back from a very dark place?
We decide on a personality not because the personality is ‘cool’-sounding but because we want to share something from our soul.
If I went through a bad time of disillusionment, I would write about a disillusioned character. If I wanted to show how bad it hit me, I would detail step-by-step the process of disillusionment.
But if I wanted to talk about the redemption and return of faith or belief in the world, I would take a character that’s supposedly irredeemable by hand, in the story, step by step, and lead them on the path to redemption, faith, or what have you.
In creating a personality for a character, we choose their story. In choosing their story, we choose to share something important in ourselves. Something we need to share and can share in our own unique way.
And if we share well our emotions and our journey, then what we share is the actual reason that people go to watch our films, read our books, or listen to our stories.
Let’s see if this is what ChatGPT did.
All right, ChatGPT, describe the first scene please:
The film begins on a bustling New Republic starship, a scientific expedition traveling to the Outer Rim. The team is a mix of alien and human characters, all excited and anxious about their mission. Suddenly, an enormous, unknown force pulls the ship off its course, and it crashes on an uncharted planet. The last scene before the cut to the title is of the wrecked ship, half-buried in the undergrowth of a vibrant alien jungle, a faint distress signal echoing into the space.
Not a lot of information regarding what the movie actually feels like. ChatGPT, give me the first plot twist:
Captain Lorin Ando and his rescue team arrive on the uncharted planet and discover that the original exploration team has not only survived the crash but has integrated with the local population. But the twist arrives when they reveal that they intentionally sabotaged their own ship to remain on the planet, drawn by the planet’s raw and uncorrupted connection to the Force, and are unwilling to return to the New Republic.
What we see here is a plot rather than a reason for the plot. There’s nothing personal in this story so far, nor is there an indication that there is anything personal in the story. But a short synopsis is a short synopsis. Let’s get a glimpse of the ending.
ChatGPT, write a synopsis of the last scene:
The climax sees Captain Ando’s team, the original explorers, and the natives in a final stand against an invading New Republic fleet that wants to exploit the planet’s Force-rich resources. They successfully repel the invasion, preserving the planet’s integrity. The final scene shows Ando and his team deciding to stay behind, with Kayla Ren starting a Force school for the natives. The camera pans out to show the untouched beauty of the uncharted planet, now a beacon of hope and a testament to co-existence in the galaxy.
Ah, see, there’s hope there for us. Kayla Ren finished her arc by getting hope back and opening a school for kids who need it.
So I decided to challenge ChatGPT. I asked it to actually write the first scene in which Kayla Ren begins to climb out of her disillusionment. It quickly wrote the following:
FADE IN:
EXT. UNCHARTED PLANET — JUNGLE CLEARING — DAY
A verdant jungle, rich with alien flora and fauna. In a small clearing, KAYLA REN (mid-30s, tough exterior but a haunted look in her eyes) is sitting alone on a rock, staring at a small, force-sensitive FLOWER that she is levitating using the Force.
She looks troubled, her memories playing back as whispers in her mind.
FLASHBACK:
INT. STARSHIP — BRIDGE — NIGHT
The ship is in chaos, alarms blaring, as the original expedition team struggles to regain control. Kayla, frantic, realizes the depths of her disillusionment with the New Republic’s manipulation of the Force.
BACK TO PRESENT:
Captain Lorin Ando approaches Kayla, his face showing concern.
CAPTAIN ANDO We need to make a decision, Kayla. Either we help these people protect their world, or we leave and risk the New Republic finding it.
Kayla’s eyes don’t leave the floating flower.
KAYLA REN (whispers) We were once guardians, protectors. What have we become?
CAPTAIN ANDO (softly) Maybe this is our chance to find our purpose again.
Kayla lowers the flower gently to the ground. Her eyes meet Captain Ando’s.
KAYLA REN (resolute) You’re right.
She stands up, her determination returning.
KAYLA REN We will protect this place. I will teach them, guide them. The Force brought us here for a reason.
As Kayla’s resolve strengthens, the plants and trees around the clearing seem to come alive, swaying, as if in response to her renewed connection with the Force.
FADE OUT.
If you didn’t really read that, I think you should. It’s actually far more advanced than I gave it credit for. There was a binary decision to be made in the scene, a decision that stems from either being disillusioned or having hope.
Kayla seems to go through all the reasonable steps in making a decision, which would theoretically make this good writing. Except…
Except that if you think about yourself and anyone you know, no actual human would go through the steps like that. Our past would affect how we go through those steps. The inability to move or the ability to move quickly, the calcification of doubt, the personality we have, the experience of a person, the childhood we had — all of those and more would make those choices more specific rather than generic.
There was nothing specific in the text, and without specificity, there’s nothing personal in the story. If it’s not personal for the writer, it’s not personal for the viewer.
Let’s give ChatGPT one more chance: Please write the scene which shows the next step in how Kayla Ren climbs out of her disillusionment.
FADE IN:
EXT. UNCHARTED PLANET — NATIVE VILLAGE — DAY
The village is abuzz with activity. Natives are training with basic weapons, constructing barricades, and preparing for the coming conflict with the New Republic fleet.
Kayla, wearing simple but practical attire, is setting up an area with various Force-sensitive objects and plants. Children and adults from the village gather around curiously.
CAPTAIN ANDO (watching) What’s your plan?
KAYLA REN I need to understand how the Force binds this world, and teach the villagers to harness it without losing themselves.
A YOUNG NATIVE GIRL, about 12, steps forward, her eyes fixed on a Force-sensitive flower similar to the one Kayla was levitating earlier.
KAYLA REN (smiling) Would you like to try?
The young girl nods. Kayla kneels beside her.
KAYLA REN Close your eyes. Feel the world around you, the life in the soil, the whisper of the trees. The Force is what binds it all together. Can you feel it?
The girl nods again, her small brow furrowed in concentration. The flower begins to lift off the ground. The other villagers gasp.
Suddenly, the young girl’s face contorts, and the flower shoots into the air before crumbling to dust.
KAYLA REN (quickly comforting her) It’s okay. The Force can be intense, especially here. We just need to learn control.
She looks up at the gathered villagers.
KAYLA REN This is about balance, harmony. We must protect this world, but also respect it. The Force is not just a weapon; it’s a responsibility.
The villagers seem to understand. They form lines, children and adults alike, eager to learn. As Kayla moves among them, teaching and guiding, her face is alive with purpose.
Captain Ando watches from the sidelines, a smile on his face. For the first time in years, Kayla has found her place, climbing out of the disillusionment that had gripped her soul.
FADE OUT.
Did you catch it this time?
There’s nothing personal in the decision-making. When there’s nothing personal in the art, the movie becomes generic, boring.
ChatGPT is advancing in leaps and bounds, but until it knows how to create art FROM its own pain point, it’s not going to write as well as human beings.
For now.
For now.
For now.
(See, that was six words, and they came from a pain point and you felt that pain point.)
And yet… For now.
