Netflix has reportedly admitted to using artificial intelligence (AI) videos for one of its sci-fi shows. As per the report, the streaming giant generated a scene in the series ‘The Eternaut’ to show a collapsing building. The company revealed the information during its Q2 2025 earnings call. This is the first time Netflix has acknowledged using AI for the production of its original shows, highlighting that video generation AI models are now reaching the maturity where the technology can be used for large-scale movie and show production.
Netflix Uses AI for The Eternaut
According to The Verge, the co-CEO of the company, Ted Sarandos, admitted to using AI for one of the platform’s original shows during the earnings call. The executive reportedly claimed that using AI for one of the scenes turned out to be faster than getting it done using traditional VFX. While the co-CEO said to have refrained from naming any AI models, he detailed the scene where AI-generated videos were used.
The Eternaut is the company’s latest post-apocalyptic sci-fi mystery thriller, and its first season (comprising eight episodes) was released on the platform on April 30. In the series, a scene shows a building in Argentina’s Buenos Aires collapsing as a train slams into it. Instead of shooting it traditionally and adding the effects via VFX, Netflix sought AI’s help and the entire scene was generated synthetically.
Sarandos reportedly told the shareholders, “That VFX sequence was completed 10 times faster than it could have been completed with traditional VFX tools and workflows. Also, the cost of it just wouldn’t have been feasible for a show in that budget.”
The Netflix co-CEO reportedly also highlighted that the company is now convinced of the capabilities of AI, and plans to use it again in the future to help creators “make films and series better, not just cheaper.”
Netflix is not the only production company to use AI in filmmaking. In 2024, epic period drama The Brutalist used AI to improve the actors’ Hungarian dialogues. AI was also used to bring some architectural designs to reality. The movie was later nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars 2025.
