Danny Boyle says he would use AI again for animals after Ink
At Ink's London Film Festival premiere, Danny Boyle told Screen Daily that using generative AI for animals is "a no-brainer", Film Stories reported on 14…
Danny Boyle said he would use generative AI in future films and called it "a no-brainer" for animals. He made the comments to Screen Daily at the 12 October UK premiere of Ink at the London Film Festival, Film Stories reported on 14 October. Boyle said real animals he has filmed were distressed by the process, whatever their handlers said. That is his rationale. Film Stories does not assess whether AI animals improve welfare on set.
Ink premiered at Venice in September, where critics spotted AI in a couple of brief scenes. According to Film Stories, AI was used to generate mice running around an office and the likeness of the late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The film follows the young Rupert Murdoch (Guy Pearce) and Sun editor Larry Lamb (Jack O'Connell). It opens wider in UK cinemas on 8 January 2027.
Boyle's account of the AI shots
Boyle described the AI work at a Toronto Q&A on 15 September, before the London premiere. He said the production tried to act responsibly and hired actors whenever it used AI so that no one lost work. He put the AI material at about 30 seconds. Both claims are Boyle's own, and Film Stories does not say what role those actors played or on what terms they were hired. At the same Q&A, an audience member appeared to say, loudly enough for the microphones to pick up, that he should not do it again.
In London, Boyle called AI "a tool that can be used if there's a proper and decent way to use it". He said the technology is moving so fast that he doubts legislative or advisory bodies can keep up, and that he does not think its developers fully know what they are doing. These are Boyle's personal views. Film Stories does not present them as a policy of the film's producers or distributor.
What the sources do not establish
The sources reviewed do not name the AI tools, vendor or VFX house behind the shots. They do not explain how the generated mice and the Thatcher likeness were combined with live-action footage, or how rights to Thatcher's likeness were handled. This report relies on Film Stories' account of the Screen Daily interview. Screen Daily's original page could not be retrieved for this piece, so Boyle's wording is given as Film Stories quotes it.
Frequently asked questions
How was generative AI used in Danny Boyle's Ink?
According to Film Stories, AI generated mice running around an office and the likeness of the late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in Ink. Boyle put the AI material at about 30 seconds. He also said the production hired actors whenever it used AI so that no one lost work. Both claims are his own, and Film Stories does not say what role those actors played or on what terms they were hired.
Will Danny Boyle use AI in his films again?
Danny Boyle said he would use generative AI in future films and called it "a no-brainer" for animals. He made the comments to Screen Daily at the 12 October London Film Festival premiere of Ink, as reported by Film Stories. His stated reason is that real animals he has filmed were distressed by the process. Film Stories does not assess whether AI animals improve welfare on set.
Which AI tools or VFX house made the AI shots in Ink?
The AI tools, vendor and VFX house behind the AI shots in Danny Boyle's Ink are not named in the sources reviewed. Those sources also do not explain how the generated mice and the Margaret Thatcher likeness were combined with live-action footage, or how rights to Thatcher's likeness were handled.
AI-assisted, reviewed by Codex (25-post review authorized by JJ Rooney, 14 October 2026) on 14 October 2026.
