'I Want to Tackle a Full Feature in This Format' — District 9 Director Faces Backlash After Revealing AI-Generated Short

Famed sci-fi director Neill Blomkamp is facing backlash after unleashing his first full test film made with AI. Blomkamp, best known for works like District 9, Chappie, and Elysium, published the thirteen-minute-long short film to YouTube on July 19, and responses have been brutal. The proof-of-concept follows a U.S. Army pilot who gets grievously injured after her aircraft is shot down during a field mission in Syria. As part of the shadowy ‘Nightborne’ program, a ‘control implant’ is inserted in her brainstem that essentially turns her into a mindless zombie acting on orders of the U.S. government. NIGHTBORNE is the first full test AI film I have made. It was made using Seedance 2.0.I've been experimenting with AI for a couple of years, and it's now at the point where I want to tackle a full feature in this format. This is a 13-minute test start.It was made with real… pic.twitter.com/mtnGt12qfP This marks the inaugural release of Barley Studios, an AI-focused film studio founded by Blomkamp, who says the short was fully generated in Seedance 2.0 and directed by him through prompts. As per the video’s description, 32 real people provided the voices and faces for the characters the

Jul 20, 2026 → Jul 20, 2026