The first trailer for Artificial is here. It shows Andrew Garfield playing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The film looks at the wild events of November 2023. That is when Altman got fired and then rehired within just five days. The movie comes from director Luca Guadagnino. He is known for films like Challengers and Call Me By Your Name.
The teaser dropped on September 8, 2026. It gives audiences a first proper look at Garfield as the tech billionaire. The tone of the trailer is dark and unsettling. It feels more like a psychological thriller than a regular business drama.
Trailer Shows a Dark and Tense Take on OpenAI’s Turmoil
The trailer does not present a normal biopic story. It focuses on paranoia, big dreams, and the serious results of creating powerful AI. One of the most striking moments shows Garfield’s Altman walking down into an underground room. The room is filled with weapons. This image sets a dark mood for the whole film.
Garfield’s Altman gives a chilling voice-over during the trailer. He talks about the launch of ChatGPT.
“We’re going to call it ChatGPT. We open Pandora’s box together. The future is inevitable. Countries will fall. Industries are going to collapse. And we get to be the ones to shepherd people into this new world. I’m so excited to see it.”
The trailer follows Garfield’s Altman through what looks like a normal workday at OpenAI. But things slowly turn colder and more disturbing.
The Real Story Behind the Film
The movie is set during one of the most dramatic times in OpenAI’s history. In November 2023, the OpenAI board removed Altman from his CEO position. The board said he had not been consistently honest in his talks with them. This, they said, stopped them from doing their jobs properly.
Mira Murati, who was the chief technology officer, became interim CEO. But Altman’s exit did not last long. Just days later, he returned to the company and got his job back. The film looks at this five-day period and the fight for power inside OpenAI.
Star-Studded Cast Brings Real Tech Figures to Life
Andrew Garfield leads the cast as Sam Altman. But he is not the only famous face in the movie. The film has put together a strong group of actors to play real people from the tech world.
Yura Borisov, who broke out in the film Anora, plays Ilya Sutskever. Sutskever is a co-founder of OpenAI. He helped lead the move to remove Altman from the company.
Monica Barbaro plays Mira Murati. She was OpenAI’s chief technology officer and briefly served as interim CEO.
Ike Barinholtz takes on the role of Elon Musk. Musk was one of OpenAI’s co-founders.
Mark Rylance appears as Geoffrey Hinton. Hinton is a Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist and AI pioneer.
Cooper Hoffman plays board chairman Greg Brockman.
The supporting cast also includes Jason Schwartzman, Zosia Mamet, Chris O’Dowd, Cooper Koch, and Billie Lourd.
Fans Compare It to The Social Network
Many viewers have noticed that Garfield is once again playing a real tech figure. He famously played Eduardo Saverin in the 2010 film The Social Network. That movie was about the rise of Facebook. Now, 16 years later, he is back in the world of Silicon Valley drama.
Fans are already calling Artificial the “spiritual sequel” to The Social Network.
One viewer wrote, “This is my Social Network sequel.”
Another said, “Andrew Garfield in the two most pivotal and scathing films about tech in the 21st century. Legend.”
Some fans have compared the two films directly. One person said it is “crazy how much better this looks than The Social Reckoning.” The Social Reckoning is a direct follow-up to The Social Network. It is set to hit theaters on October 9, 2026.
Not Everyone Is Excited About the Film
But not all reactions have been positive. Some fans have questioned why a film about Altman is even being made.
One person wrote, “No one asked for a Sam Altman biopic. Dude got fired for 5 days and they made a whole Oscar bait movie about it. We live in hell.”
Another fan made a joke about Garfield’s looks compared to Altman. They commented, “They need to use AI to make Andrew Garfield’s head twice as large so he can look more like Sam Altman.”
The Film’s Rocky Road to Release
Artificial had a difficult path to get to audiences. The film was first set for release through Amazon MGM Studios. But the studio dropped the project earlier this year.
This decision came right after Amazon announced a major partnership with OpenAI. The deal included a $50 billion investment in the company.
Amazon MGM Studios explained its choice. It said the film would “be better served if it were released by a different studio”.
After that, other distributors like Netflix, A24, and Focus passed on the project. Finally, Neon picked up the film in June 2026. Neon is known for distributing films like Parasite and Anora. The company bought the project for $20 million.
Release Dates and Where to Watch
Artificial will make its world premiere at the 2026 New York Film Festival on October 5.
After that, the film will get a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 25 (Christmas Day). It will then expand to more cinemas in January 2027.
For UK audiences, the film is scheduled for release on January 22, 2027.
Global release dates for other regions, including India, Canada, and Australia, are expected to follow the US and UK rollout. Further international release details are likely to be announced closer to the film’s premiere.
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What Andrew Garfield Has Said About the Role
Garfield has been open about the challenges of playing a living person. He admitted that he does not know Altman personally.
“I don’t know this person, to be clear. I don’t know Sam Altman. I’ve never met him. I was going off of the script and court transcripts and interviews and research, and we were telling a story.”
He also shared his thoughts on what it takes to lead a company like OpenAI.
“I think anyone who takes on that level of responsibility for a company or a technology that you know is going to do a hell of a lot of damage to the soul of humanity [must have] a certain ability to dissociate.”
The film is directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Simon Rich. Rich previously worked as a writer on Saturday Night Live.
Also Read: Andrew Garfield Says There Is Magic in Ordinary Life in New Film ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’
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