Joseph Gordon-Levitt's AI Thriller '2034' Heads to Netflix

Netflix and T-Street have confirmed production on "2034", a thriller written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt that begins filming May 4, 2026. Production Weekly's March 2026 issue logs the project with Belgrade, Serbia, and Montenegro as the primary filming locations. T-Street is the production company led by director Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman.

The Film

Set in the near future year of 2034, the film is described in production documents as a direct creative exploration of themes surrounding artificial intelligence. Industry insiders characterize the story as portraying AI in a "negative light", centering on the friction between human creativity and automated systems.

Gordon-Levitt wrote the screenplay jointly with Kieran Fitzgerald. The two previously collaborated on "Snowden" (2016), Oliver Stone's film about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and the mechanics of mass digital surveillance.

Natasha Lyonne holds a story credit. Lyonne is also a member of the Creators Coalition on AI, the advocacy organization Gordon-Levitt co-founded in December 2025 to push for creator compensation when AI systems train on human generated work.

Cast and Production

Rachel McAdams will star in the film. She stepped into the role after Anne Hathaway, who had previously been attached to the project, exited. The Wrap, which first reported the casting shift, identified "2034" as a high priority package for Netflix.

Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman produce through T-Street. The Deadline report that broke the project's Netflix deal described it as a studio package, a designation Netflix applies to high priority acquisitions where creative talent and financing come assembled together.

Gordon-Levitt's Campaign Against AI

Gordon-Levitt has spent the past three years building a documented public case against unchecked AI development in creative industries. In a July 2023 op-ed for The Washington Post, he argued that AI models are better understood as "collective intelligence" than "artificial" intelligence, because they depend entirely on human-generated data. He proposed a "residual economy" model in which creators receive payment every time an AI system uses their work as training input.

In January 2026, he testified before the Utah State Legislature in support of HB 286, the AI Transparency Act. He told lawmakers that current AI businesses are "amoral" and that more laws govern the sale of a sandwich than the development of AI technology.

At the Variety Entertainment Summit at CES in January 2026, he warned that the film industry is the "canary in the coal mine" for how AI will eventually displace labor across all sectors. At the UN Internet Governance Forum in 2026, he described the total disappearance of human creativity as a viable profession as the worst case scenario for AI without regulation.

That sustained campaign is documented in detail in our coverage of his efforts to build compensation frameworks and ethical standards for creators across Hollywood. "2034" is the next phase of that work: a mass audience narrative built around the same argument.

Netflix, which has simultaneously been expanding its own AI production infrastructure through the acquisition of Ben Affleck's startup InterPositive, is financing the film. Gordon-Levitt is not alone among senior filmmakers in publicly challenging what AI can and cannot contribute to cinema. Kathleen Kennedy, in a recent appearance at a Runway AI summit, questioned whether AI can replicate the accumulated judgment that makes a film worth watching.

Filming in Belgrade

Belgrade, Serbia, and Montenegro are confirmed as the primary shooting locations, per the Film and Television Industry Alliance production list. Filming begins May 4, 2026.

Sources

Deadline | The Wrap | Production Weekly | Film and Television Industry Alliance | The Washington Post | Variety