Luca Guadagnino to Direct AI Drama ‘Artificial’ Starring Andrew Garfield & Monica Barbaro

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Following the collapse of his Sgt. Rock film, director Luca Guadagnino is swiftly progressing with his upcoming venture and is considering actors like Andrew Garfield (known for The Amazing Spider-Man) and Monica Barbaro (recognized from A Complete Unknown) for lead positions. Renowned for his exceptional work, Guadagnino has been a highly sought-after filmmaker. In 2024, he released two critically acclaimed films, Challengers and Queer, to theaters. With an impressive list of projects in the pipeline, including an American Psycho remake and a previously postponed DC superhero movie due to scheduling issues, Guadagnino has now found his next project that is gaining significant traction.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, director Guadagnino has agreed to helm Amazon MGM’s upcoming drama titled “Artificial,” centered around Sam Altman, the CEO of artificial intelligence company OpenAI. Altman was dismissed in 2023 but quickly reinstated. There is interest in casting Garfield as Altman. For key roles, Monica Barbaro (from “A Complete Unknown”) and Yura Borisov (“Anora”) are being considered. Barbaro may play Mira Murati, the former Open AI chief technology officer, while Borisov might portray Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder who led the effort to remove Altman from his position. No actors have confirmed their participation as of yet, but plans are in place to initiate filming this summer.

The New ‘Social Network’?

I’m thrilled to be part of the team bringing Luca Guadagnino’s third film to life with Amazon MGM Studios. They were responsible for the release of “Challengers” in 2024 and will distribute his upcoming film, “After the Hunt,” slated for October 2025. Notably, Andrew Garfield, who stars in this movie, has previous experience with biopics centered around influential figures ousted from major tech companies. You might remember him as Eduardo Savrin, one of the co-founders of Facebook, in “The Social Network.” Similar to David Fincher’s timeless masterpiece, “Artificial” is a project by a renowned, critically acclaimed director, exploring a cutting-edge technology that has significantly influenced human life over the past few years.

Discussions about artificial intelligence, particularly companies such as OpenAI and generative AI art, are generating a lot of buzz within the entertainment world. Some productions have been found to use AI and have faced significant criticism. Notably, Lucasfilm and ILM released an unsatisfactory Star Wars short film using AI. However, other projects have been wrongly accused of utilizing AI, as people are now keen on spotting it even when it’s not present. The topic is delicate, and Guadagnino must navigate carefully in dealing with this material.

It’s intriguing that instead of proceeding with the projects he previously announced after Sgt. Rock disintegrated, director Luca Guadagnino chose to join the cast of Artificial. Notably, he is not only set to direct the remake of American Psycho, but also work on Separate Rooms, an adaptation of Pier Vittorio Tondelli’s novel Camere separate, with Josh O’Connor and Léa Seydoux already attached. However, it remains uncertain when American Psycho will be ready, leading to speculation about what Guadagnino might choose as his next project following Artificial. There are rumors that the production of Sgt. Rock might not commence until 2026, but it remains to be seen if Guadagnino will still be keen on helming the WWII DCU film by then, or if he will focus on his other commitments instead.

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2025-06-04 17:04