Ben Affleck imagined an AI generated ending for the hit show Succession, by suggesting a scenario where Kendall Roy, played by Jeremy Strong, ends up taking over the company.
Ben Affleck has recently joined the growing discussion about the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in filmmaking and shared his thoughts on how it could impact Hollywood. While the Justice League star acknowledged that AI could be beneficial in certain ways, it can never replace humans. He predicted that people will one day be able to create their own TV show episodes by paying a small fee. He even imagined an AI generated ending for the hit show Succession, by suggesting a scenario where Kendall Roy, played by Jeremy Strong, ends up taking over the company and has an affair with Arian Moayed’s Stewy Hosseini. In Succession, Kendall and Stewy have been close friends since their school days.
Appearing at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha 2024 event, Ben said, “AI will allow you to ask for your own episode of Succession where you can say I’ll pay $30 and ‘can you make me a 45 minute episode where like Kendall gets the company and runs off and has an affair with Stewie,’ and it’ll do it. It’ll be a little janky and a little bit weird but it will know the sass and those actors and it will remix it in effect. That’s the value long-term.”
Ben Affleck also believes that movies and shows will be among the last to be fully replaced by Artificial Intelligence. He pointed out that AI could reduce the cost of visual effects, which typically require large teams and budgets. While it can improve things like background details, fix mistakes, or speed up production, he highlighted that it won’t replace the human creativity involved in filmmaking. Ben also added that AI might make it possible to release multiple seasons of shows like House of the Dragon each year, instead of just one.
The actor further described AI as more of a “craftsman” than an artist. He explained that while AI can learn by observing and imitating, like a craftsman who learns by watching someone else, it can only combine existing ideas. According to him, AI can’t create anything new on its own. He pointed out that a real craftsman knows how to work, but art is about knowing when to stop, which AI will struggle with in the future.
Succession is about Logan Roy, the powerful CEO of a global media empire called Waystar RoyCo. The show also focuses on Logan’s children, Connor, Kendall, Shiv and Roman Roy, as they fight for control of the family business. Other than Jeremy Strong and Arian Moayed, the HBO series also stars Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfadyen, Alan Ruck, Sarah Snook, Dagmara Dominczyk, J Smith Cameron, Fisher Stevens, Alexander Skarsgard, Peter Friedman, Hiam Abbass and Nicholas Braun.
