Why does Duncan Trussell say The Midnight Gospel couldn't be made with AI?

Duncan Trussell told Joe Rogan that The Midnight Gospel worked because Netflix let the team do all of the animation in-house, so a large group of artists solved problems together in real time. Co-creator Pendleton Ward told animators not to stick strictly to the character grid, which made the show look more psychedelic. The animators also added Easter eggs nobody had asked for. Trussell says AI could help with technical work such as in-betweens, but not with that group effort.

• Trussell credits Ward, the creator of Adventure Time, with making everyone feel free to pitch ideas.
• Trussell says creative tension is healthy, but a narcissist who only cares about being right ruins a project.

▸In their words

“The human struggle produces sparks and the sparks end up in the process.” Duncan Trussell · at 2:03:57 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Joe Rogan Experience (2026-10-23). Read the whole episode summary →

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