Affleck, Gadot to star in $70M AI-made Bitcoin thriller

Casey Affleck and Gal Gadot headline Bitcoin: Killing Satoshi, a $70 million thriller directed by Doug Liman that was produced largely with artificial intelligence. The story follows an international search for Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, spanning roughly 200 locations and varied climates.

The production recreated those locations inside a former car showroom wrapped in a gray screen, a setup the team calls a “gray box.” AI tools generated environments and lighting while live actors performed without digital alteration. Producer Ryan Kavanaugh noted, “We decided to use AI very early on. We budgeted out what it would be to do it practically, and it was over $300 million. The performance is captured in a very unique way using our AI protocols.” Kavanaugh added that the workflow combines live performances with AI-generated surroundings.

The cast also includes Isla Fisher and Pete Davidson. With a $70 million budget, the project will be presented to potential buyers at the Cannes film market next week.

The film arrives amid renewed attention on Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity after a recent investigation named a leading industry figure as the prime suspect; that person denied the claim on social media, calling the reporting “a combination of coincidence and similar phrases from people with similar experience and interests.” Other recent films and documentaries have proposed different candidates for Satoshi, and some people named in those projects have issued denials.

Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper in 2008 and stopped communicating publicly around 2011. Blockchain analysis attributes roughly 1.1 million BTC to early addresses thought to belong to the founder, a holding valued at tens of billions of dollars. Bitcoin recently traded near $74,900, up about 0.7% over 24 hours and more than 40% below its all-time high of $126,080 set last October.

Producers say the AI-driven production allowed them to portray a globe-spanning story without traditional location shoots while preserving actor performances. The project will seek distribution at the Cannes market in the coming week.