Bitcoin: Killing Satoshi Arrives at Cannes as a $70M AI Feature

Bitcoin: Killing Satoshi, Doug Liman's $70 million thriller, arrived at the 2026 Cannes Film Market with a complete cast and 30 weeks of post production already underway. International sales are handled by Patrick Wachsberger's company 193, with CAA representing North American rights.

The film stars Casey Affleck as computer scientist Craig Wright, Pete Davidson, Gal Gadot, and Isla Fisher. Gadot and Fisher confirmed their roles after the initial announcement in February 2026.

How the Film Was Shot

Principal photography ran 20 days on a custom grey stage with no practical sets. Actors performed on what the production describes as a "markerless performative capture stage", tracking movement through cameras rather than the body suits used in standard motion capture. Every background, location, and environment in the film will be generated by AI during post production.

Casey Affleck described the on set experience directly. "It was much more like acting in a Broadway play than in a giant event film", he told The Wrap. "The entire focus on set was on performances".

The Scale of the Production

Post production is now 30 weeks deep, with 55 AI artists building the film's entire visual world from scratch. Producers say the approach brought the budget to $70 million, compared to the $300 million a conventional location shoot of the same scope would cost.

The subject matter fits the method. Bitcoin: Killing Satoshi follows the real world search for the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin whose real name remains unknown. Affleck plays Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who has publicly claimed to be Nakamoto.

Industry Reaction

The production sparked controversy at CinemaCon 2026, where exhibitors saw early footage. Producer Lawrence Grey acknowledged the split reaction. "Generally, the community was apprehensive, but underneath everyone was understanding that, yeah, this is inevitable. It's here", he told The Wrap.

That response mirrors a broader shift at Cannes 2026, where filmmakers stopped concealing their use of AI tools. The Cannes 2026 AI acceptance story documents how the festival marked the moment studios began disclosing AI usage openly.

The Cannes Market

At the Majestic Hotel, Deadline reported "a steady stream of curious buyers" filing in and out of sales meetings. No distribution deal has been announced as of the close of the festival.

The initial Killing Satoshi production report covered the February 2026 announcement before the full cast was confirmed. The Cannes Marche du Film AI summit covered the market panels that set the context for productions like this one.

Filmmakers and producers can access text-to-video and image-to-video generation through AI FILMS Studio, including tools for generating the kind of AI environments central to this production.

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Sources

• The Wrap
• Deadline
• Variety
• Screen Daily