Netflix admits
during its Earnings call on Thursday revealed that it used generative AI for VFX inThe Eternaut, a Netflix Original from Argentina released in April 2025. Ted Sarandos, the company’s coCEO, said that generative AI had been used specifically for a VFX in the postapocalyptic thriller. However, this is just one way Netflix is embracing AI.
Accordingly to Sarandos the creators The Eternaut wanted a shot of a building collapsing Buenos Aires. Rather than contract a visual effects studio to create the footage Netflix used generative AI. Sarandos revealed “Using AI powered tools, they were able to achieve an amazing result with remarkable speed,” during the earnings call. Sarandos, who had some input into the budget of the show, says that “In fact, that VFX sequence was completed 10 times faster than it could have been completed with… traditional VFX tools and workflows.”
“just wouldn’t have been feasible for a show on that budget,” The shot. The executive said that The Eternaut features “the very first Gen AI final footage to appear on screen in a Netflix original series or film.” The show is also a model for how Netflix could avoid costs in the future. Workers in the entertainment sector have not been happy with the use of generative artificial intelligence. Securing AI protections has become a major issue in recent labor strikes, including the recently resolved SAG/AFTRA video game strike. The Oscar-nominated The Brutalist was criticized in 2024 for its use of AI tools during production. The question of whether generative AI was illegally trained using copyrighted materials is still open.
Netflix will use generative AI for its ad support Netflix subscription. The company is also testing a new feature powered by OpenAI. It may seem normal for a company to use generative AI for production, but this could help normalize a technology which many creatives are still actively against.
