Ink director Danny Boyle opens up about using AI for Thatcher and Kray brothers scenes

Danny Boyle’s Ink is currently the talk of the town after the director revealed that artificial intelligence was used in parts of his new film. The revelation comes after viewers began questioning whether AI had been involved in recreating some historical figures featured in the movie.

Danny Boyle on using AI in Ink

In an interview with Vanity Fair at the Telluride Film Festival, Danny Boyle shared the usage of AI technology for his new film Ink to create images. He said, "There are about 30 seconds of it in our movie, where we animate a couple of old photographs, which you'll have seen online the way it does that, that you can bring old photographs to life. And that's kind of how we use it."

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The revelation is particularly notable because some viewers had already questioned the appearance of historical figures in the movie. Margaret Thatcher and the Kray brothers — Ronnie and Reggie Kray — appear in material connected to the film's depiction of Britain during the period when Murdoch was establishing his influence.

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Danny Boyle using AI in a previous film

He further explained that the production also used AI to create imagery of mice, recounting a controversy he faced for using real chimpanzees in the opening of his 2002 zombie feature film 28 Days Later.

He stated, "There are some mice. It's very good for animals. I got in trouble with PETA when we had some chimps at the beginning of 28 Days Later. And they wrote to me and said, "You must never do that again. And I haven't. Ever since I've tried to use CG, as they call it, animals. But AI is very, very good at creating animals. We got some mice in this one that run around The Sun newsroom.

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“My opinion of AI is that it’s a very useful tool in many ways, provided you use it respectfully and provided you pay actors if you’re going to replace them with some kind of AI embodiment or something like that — so just like with any animation project, or just as part of the VFX toolbox,” Danny Boyle said.

All about Ink

Ink is a biographical drama helmed by Danny Boyle and adapted by James Fraham from his 2017 stage play. A co-production of the United Kingdom, France and the United States. It follows the story of Larry Lamb as he accepts Rupert Murdoch's offer to be the editor of the British tabloid newspaper The Sun.

The film had its world premiere as the opening film of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2026, where it will compete for the Golden Lion. It is scheduled to be released in select theatres in the US on December 11, 2026, before releasing on Netflix on January 8, 2027, in the US, followed by its theatrical release in the UK by Studio Canal.

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The film stars Jack O'Connell as Larry Lamb, Guy Pearce as Rupert Murdoch, Claire Foy as Jules Davies, a reporter for The Sun, Blake Harrison as Ray, chief subeditor for The Sun, Patrick Kennedy as Bernard Shrimsley, deputy editor for The Sun, Bertie Carvel as Hugh Cudlipp, editor-in-chief for The Mirror and Larry's former boss, among others.