Acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur creates entire sci-fi series “Warlord” using only AI

Acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has unveiled “Warlord,” a science fiction series created entirely through artificial intelligence, with the first teaser released today and the full episode arriving within two to three months. The project represents a bold experiment in AI-driven storytelling that could challenge traditional studio production models while pioneering an open-source creative ecosystem.

What you should know: “Warlord” follows an interdimensional warrior who appears indestructible because his lover in another dimension pulls him to safety whenever he faces mortal danger.

• “The only time that lover can bring him to her is when he’s absolutely close to death,” Kapur tells Variety. “So if the sword hits him, and he’s so close to death, she shifts him to a different dimension, and you might just see the sword going through him, but he’s not there.”
• The cosmic saga centers on warriors protecting mystical crystals that power an entire galaxy, representing fundamental particles that “create the universe” but exist for only “a millionth of a millionth of a millionth of a millionth of a second.”

The big picture: Kapur envisions the project as more than entertainment—it’s designed to become an open-source creative platform where others can adapt elements for their own projects.

• Users can utilize “Warlord’s” production design and characters by paying one cent per use and making their creations open source for others to build upon.
• “The whole idea is that great stories can become their own platforms,” Kapur says. “They don’t need to be hosted by another platform.”

Who’s involved: Kapur is partnering with Studio Blo, a generative AI company established in 2024 with offices in Mumbai, Dubai, London, and LA.

• The company’s previous work includes Warner Music India’s “The Heartbreak Chhora” music video featuring Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana.
• Kartik Shah serves as composer for the series.

Why this matters: The project demonstrates AI’s potential to democratize content creation and disrupt traditional entertainment industry power structures.

• Sequences that would have taken “months and months” to create using conventional methods are now being completed in just two weeks.
• “I think we’re seeing the end of studios,” Kapur says. “The studios have followed the wrong model. They assumed that big meant power. AI is going to destroy the myth of budgets, destroy the myth of being big.”

Creative innovations: The series features organic spacecraft inspired by jellyfish rather than traditional metal vessels.

• “In the distant future, we’ll have materials that will heal themselves,” Kapur explains. “So spaceships will be made out of living materials and organic materials that heal and live.”
• These ships propel themselves using “the force of the particles, the fundamental particles of space” rather than conventional rocket fuel, moving “like sails using the winds of the universe.”

What they’re saying: Kapur compares the current moment to Napster’s disruption of the music industry, suggesting established entertainment gatekeepers are making similar mistakes.

• “This new technology is empowering the individual,” Kapur says. “It’s pushing power back into the realm of imagination and storytelling.”
• He describes his philosophical approach: “It’s like putting a seed to create a rainforest of ideas. A rainforest of production design, a rainforest of stories. But it comes from one seed, and we are planting the seed.”

What’s next: The project will expand beyond the series to include films and games within the same creative universe.

• Kapur continues work on two feature films—”Ebony McQueen” and “Masoom… The New Generation”—while noting that AI allows him to focus on creative direction rather than traditional production demands.
• He also plans to establish a film school in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum district with a specific focus on AI technology in filmmaking.