Joe Russo thinks AI will shape the future of storytelling in film

Joe Russo
(Image credit: Albert L. Ortega / Contributor / Getty)

Joe Russo has opened up on his thoughts about how AI could affect the future of film and storytelling. 

Speaking at a Sands International Film Festival panel moderated by Collider, the Avengers: Endgame director shared his predictions on the impact artificial intelligence could have across movies, TV, and video games. 

Noting that Gen Z has embraced rapid technological progress in a way never seen before, which allows for "a real possibility now for technology to become a really important factor in our lives," Russo revealed that he thinks AI could end up creating entire movies. 

"So potentially, what you could do with it is obviously use it to engineer storytelling and change storytelling," he commented. "So you have a constantly evolving story, either in a game or in a movie, or a TV show. You could walk into your house and save the AI on your streaming platform. 'Hey, I want a movie starring my photoreal avatar and Marilyn Monroe's photoreal avatar. I want it to be a rom-com because I've had a rough day,' and it renders a very competent story with dialogue that mimics your voice. It mimics your voice, and suddenly now you have a rom-com starring you that's 90 minutes long. So you can curate your story specifically to you."

He added that AI could also be used to "curate your experience" in gaming, using an example of requesting an AI to make Fortnite more of a horror game, as well as talking about how artificial intelligence could influence NPCs. 

"I think that's where it's going. How quickly we get there, I don't know, but that's where it's going," he said. 

Russo's next project is Citadel, which he executive produced along with his brother Anthony Russo. The show hits Prime Video this April 28. You can fill out your watchlist further with our guide to the best shows on Amazon Prime Video

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.