Motion Picture: Google Invests $75 Million In A24 To Develop AI Filmmaking Tools, Jenna Ortega Stars In ‘Klara and the Sun’

Action/Sci-fi/Thriller: Anirudh Pisharody (Never Have I Ever) and Tongayi Chirisa (Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches) are starring in Chronos, an indie thriller from director Giannini Sejmedo Moreira. Character details are being kept under wraps. The story follows a father who is lured by an ancient device to a hidden trial after his entire family disappears in Greece. Production has wrapped in Greece, with no news on a release date. Eleni Sotiropoulou and Lisa Morrell are also set to star. Samantha Gao (Smoking Tigers, Better Life) is producing alongside Moreira.

Sean Kaufman (The Summer I Turned Pretty) is in negotiations to star alongside Matt Damon in the new untitled Daniels event picture. The Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) will write and direct for Universal. Sandra Oh and Charles Melton are also on board. Plot and character details are currently under wraps, with Kwan, Scheinert, and Jonathan Wang producing through their company Playgrounds’ overall deal with Universal. The film is set to release on November 19, 2027.

Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) joins Taika Waititi's dystopian sci-fi drama Klara and the Sun alongside Amy Adams (Nightbitch). Ortega will play Klara, a solar-powered robot whose purpose is to assist the lives of the humans around her. Mia Tharia, Steve Buscemi, and Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face) round out the cast. The film is being adapted from the bestselling novel of the same name by author Kazuo Ishiguro. Waititi described the project as containing comedic elements while retaining the pensive beauty of the original text, saying, “This one probably may even be my most dramatic film.”

Ortega and Waititi reportedly collaborated closely on the depiction of Klara and what an Artificial Friend would look and act like. While the film was shot in early 2024 in Waititi’s home country of New Zealand, the director reportedly found the film’s final tone during the lengthy editing process.

The movie is set for a theatrical release from Sony Pictures on October 23, 2026. Waititi and Dahvi Waller co-wrote the screenplay, adapting Ishiguro’s 2021 dystopian sci-fi novel. Waititi also produces alongside David Heyman, Jeffrey Clifford, Rosie Alison, and Garrett Basch.

Imani lewis - arturo holmes

Drama: Imani Lewis (First Kill) and Tanya Wright (True Blood) are set to star in the new horror-drama Killa from writer-director Laci Dent. The film follows Asa Jones, a girl from Louisiana who wants to conquer the world of girls’ basketball. When Asa sees her shot at a college scholarship slipping away, she begins to lose herself to a captivating force. The picture will be produced by Morgan Bentz and executive produced by Kareem Mortimer, Trevite Willis, and Julia Chatwin of Best Yet Entertainment. This will be Dent’s feature filmmaking debut. Her work as a screenwriter has been supported by The Black List, SFFILM, Women in Film Los Angeles, and The Gotham Week Project Market. Filming will commence in August.

Selana Gomez - Axelle/Bauer-Griffin

Animation: Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building) will lead the new Illumination animated alien movie Not Alone alongside Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme). The film follows Fran (Gomez) and Joe (Chalamet), two scientists working together on the launch of a new rocket. The synopsis reads: “Life becomes more complicated when three aliens—tiny, unruly and adorable—take refuge in Joe’s home. Dunk, Welly, and Shirm are on the interplanetary run from a zealous-yet-inept officer of the law named Zandro. The aliens determine that Fran’s rocket could provide their means of getting back home to safety.” The studio set an April 16, 2027, wide release for the project. The announcement was made during the Annecy Film Festival in France.

Additional voice cast includes Rob Brydon, Diane Morgan, Jamie Demetriou, Brett Goldstein, Allison Janney, and Lamorne Morris.

Industry: Google is investing more than $75 million in the independent studio A24 to develop AI-powered filmmaking tools. Google’s investment is tied to the partnership and is in line with what Thrive Capital invested in the studio’s last funding round, according to The Wall Street Journal. This new partnership gives A24 access to DeepMind’s research and infrastructure, while DeepMind researchers will work with the studio to build new workflows. The deal will not grant Google access to A24’s content library or its data.

This is the latest in a slew of Hollywood studio-AI partnerships. A24 partner Scott Belsky, who leads the studio’s technology division, A24 Labs, told The Wall Street Journal, “We think there are better uses that preserve creative control and support risk-taking,” arguing the new tools “won’t look anything like the prompted generation type of AI that people feel uncomfortable with.” Belsky’s division is developing applications for AI-generated storyboards, another reimagining of the production process that has seen filmmakers like Martin Scorsese express support.

A24 has earned a reputation as one of the industry's most influential independent studios, with films such as Lady Bird, Moonlight, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and the recent box-office success Backrooms. The studio is known for backing filmmaker-driven projects and cultivating a devoted audience. Ironically, roughly 85% of those who saw Backrooms during its opening weekend were under 35, according to PostTrak data, while roughly half of adults under 30 believe AI will harm society, according to a Pew Research study published last week.

In a divisive era where companies have oscillated between partnerships and lawsuits, only time will tell the results of A24’s new AI venture. Disney’s short-lived deal with OpenAI to license its suite of characters came as the company sued AI firms like MiniMax and Midjourney for copyright infringement, while Lionsgate expanded its partnership with Runway AI to develop new intellectual property and produce AI-generated shows drawing from its existing franchises. Earlier this year, Netflix purchased Ben Affleck’s AI startup InterPositive, aimed at building tools for filmmakers.