John Wick Goes Generative AI: Lionsgate and Runway Partner for AI-Generated Shorts
Your favorite Lionsgate characters are about to be artificial.
It was just announced in The Wrap that Lionsgate and generative AI company Runway have sort of combined. Lionsgate has taken an equity stake in Runway as part of an expanded "preferred partnership," with the goal of a joint development program to mine Lionsgate’s massive library of intellectual property (IP) to create AI-generated short films.
Yes, that means we could be seeing AI-assisted iterations of John Wick, The Hunger Games, or Saw in the near future.
Let's dive in.
The Deal
According to Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns, the studio views Runway as a tool to expand storytelling capabilities and optimize production operations.
In a statement, Burns said:
"This is an iterative process. As we continue to expand the use cases of Runway technology across our production operations and introduce its tools to more of our filmmakers, we believe it will help our talent redefine and reshape the art of the possible in their creative endeavors."
The basic idea is that they'll feed their library into Runway's models in order to train it on their characters and voices. That way, Runway can say whatever it produces was legally obtained.
Once it's trained, it can spit out shorts based on the premium IP, creating content that Lionsgate can put online, use on a streamer, insert into movies, or do whatever they need.
“We consistently see that the studios most serious about AI are thinking about it as a creative resource, not a cost-cutting tool,” said Cristóbal Valenzuela, the co-founder and co-CEO of Runway. “Lionsgate gets that. This expanded partnership will help more stories be told, faster. That’s core to our mission at Runway, and we’re excited to help create the next generation of iconic content.”
What This Means for Filmmakers and Creators
Well, if you've sold anything to Lionsgate, they now own it and are probably going to use AI to make more of it. So check with your lawyer when it comes to kickbacks or any sort of payment for it. And I would also bug your guild to see about that, too.
Another viewpoint is that Lionsgate is essentially giving its filmmakers a sandbox to play in. They're not going after original ideas, but trying to use their own IP to give storytellers access to characters to expand on their worlds.
Imagine a director being able to rapidly prototype a complex VFX sequence, generate hyper-accurate storyboards using the actual likenesses of franchise characters, or test out spin-off concepts via short films before committing to a $100 million budget.
That, I guess, seems fun?
The other sobering detail here is that AI is being institutionalized in Hollywood.
Lionsgate appears to be the first to announce having a Chief AI officer and a program like this, but it will not be the last.
We are going to see more legacy studios establish internal guardrails where they allow AI to mine their IP to make content for their platforms.
So we will keep an eye on that for you.
What Do You Think?
Would you want to watch an AI-generated John Wick short if it were sanctioned by the studio? How do you see tools like Runway changing your own pre-production or post-production workflows?
Let us know in the comments below!
