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A24 stunned fans this week by announcing a new AI research partnership with Google. The move is a bold one, and could see the studio lose its extremely high popularity.

This week, A24 and Google announced that both companies had come together for a new partnership. The deal will see Google invest roughly $75 million into the company, in order to develop new AI-powered technologies through its DeepMind laboratory. The new deal will allow A24 access to Google’s DeepMind research, which it will use to reportedly build out better workflows for its movie production and other aspects of the company.

Fans were quick to criticize the move the second it was announced. For a myriad of reasons, fans of A24 expressed concern with the move. As a studio that rose to popularity via its clever use of social media and marketing, it’s also an odd move that could have some huge blowback.

For starters, backlash to the move was obvious due to the AI nature of it all. A24 partner Scott Belsky, who leads the studio’s technology division, was quick to note that the move is more about helping the studio in non-creative avenues versus any way that the company makes or produces movies. He told The Wall Street Journal the partnership will largely help A24 in ways like developing applications for AI-generated storyboards or other avenues in the production process.

However, to many, this is a slippery slope. It was just a few years ago that Hollywood was striking in order to keep AI out of its movie-making business. Now, those efforts seem to have fallen short in many ways. Companies like Disney have tried to get into the AI business with a short-lived partnership with OpenAI, Lionsgate is expanding its own partnership with AI firm Runway AI, and Netflix just recently bought Ben Affleck’s own AI startup. Needless to say, it seems like AI has fully infiltrated Hollywood.

While studios continue to say they aren’t looking to replace the creative aspect of movie-making, the continued partnership with AI companies has many wary of what the future might look like. Stuff like assisting in storyboarding or mitigating other more “menial” tasks might seem like a plus at first, but history shows that it’s only a matter of time before things shift and companies look to begin saving money by ousting creatives in favor of other methods.

When it comes to the optics of it, it’s also a weird move for A24 as a whole. Since its inception, the studio has risen to prominence for being the “cool” company in a Hollywood filled with legacy production studios. A24’s use of fashion, collectibles, and other modern marketing has gone a long way to transform the company into not only a movie studio, but a brand that people like enough to wear on clothing.

This latest move won’t entirely disrupt all of that love in an instant. A24 continues to put out good movies, and fans will continue to enjoy the brand for its clever use of marketing. However, the move seems like a needless one on paper, and only risks totally eroding a ton of goodwill the company has built up through the years.