Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s AI Movie With Rachel McAdams Lands at Netflix

An AI thriller that has been in the works for nearly a year has officially found its home, with Netflix acquiring the rights to the Joseph Gordon-Levitt–directed project.

Deadline first reported that the untitled AI thriller, directed and co-written by Gordon-Levitt, is heading to the streaming service and will star Oscar nominee Rachel McAdams. There are no details of a plot, but Gordon-Levitt co-wrote the script with Kieran Fitzgerald; they previously worked together on the 2016 movie Snowden.

The project was initially announced last December with Anne Hathaway attached to star, though McAdams is taking over the lead role.

Actor-filmmaker Gordon-Levitt, who has been outspoken about the rise of artificial intelligence, discussed his views earlier this year at the UN Internet Governance Forum, expressing concern about how AI could impact creativity:

“I think that the impact could mean that creativity as we know it, sort of goes away, to be really honest. I hate to put it in grave terms. That’s a worst-case scenario, but I think it’s on the table. The technology could be a wonderful thing for creativity, and we’re sort of at that crossroads right now.”

Given his history of speaking out on AI and its effects on creative industries, the project is expected to explore those themes, though official story details have yet to be revealed.

The film is being produced under Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman’s T-Street Productions banner, marking another collaboration between Gordon-Levitt and the producing duo. T-Street Productions is best known for Rian Johnson movies Knives Out and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and previously partnered with Netflix on Fair Play, which earned critical acclaim after its 2023 Sundance debut.

Gordon-Levitt’s connection with Johnson and Bergman is not new. He starred in Johnson’s 2005 directorial debut, Brick, appeared in Looper, and worked with Bergman when he made his own directorial debut with Don Jon in 2013. That film, centered on a man struggling with pornography addiction, received positive reviews and currently holds an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Rachel McAdams, known for The Notebook and Mean Girls, is set to star in the AI thriller, though her role has not yet been disclosed. She is set to star in Send Help, an upcoming thriller directed by Sam Raimi for 20th Century Studios, co-starring Dylan O’Brien and Dennis Haysbert.

It’s unclear why Hathaway stepped away, but it could be due to scheduling conflicts following her upcoming roles in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the revival of The Devil Wears Prada.

No release date has been set for Gordon-Levitt’s untitled AI thriller.