Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 30 : Ace filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has stepped into new creative territory with 'Warlord', a science fiction series made entirely using artificial intelligence. The makers have released the teaser of the movie on Tuesday.
The story revolves around warriors defending mystical crystals that power an entire galaxy. These crystals are fundamental particles beyond neutrinos that "create the universe" but exist for only a millionth of a millionth of a millionth of a millionth of a second," Shekhar Kapur explains as quoted in a press note shared by the makers.
Written and directed by Shekhar Kapur, the series follows an interdimensional warrior who survives mortal danger with the help of his lover in another dimension.
"The only time that lover can bring him to her is when he's absolutely close to death... So if the sword hits him and he's so close to death, she shifts him to a different dimension, and you might just see the sword going through him, but he's not there," he explains the concept.
Shekhar Kapur's vision goes beyond the series itself. He plans to make all production design and characters open for creators to use--"a rainforest of ideas."
Users can adapt elements from "Warlord" for a one-cent fee, as long as their creations remain open source for others to use in their art, as per the press release from the makers.
The director is partnering with Studio Blo, a generative AI company born in Mumbai and represented in Dubai, London, and LA, that was established in 2024.
Credits include Warner Music India music video 'The Heartbreak Chhora,' featuring Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana and Music Today's 'Purana Pyar,' featuring Aishan.
Kartik Shah serves as composer for 'Warlord.' The project represents a dramatic departure from traditional production methods, with Kapur noting that sequences that would have taken "months and months" to create in the past are now being completed in just two weeks.
Calling AI a democratizing force, Shekhar Kapur believes it will disrupt the dominance of big studios and streaming platforms.
"The studios have followed the wrong model... AI is going to destroy the myth of budgets, destroy the myth of being big," Shekhar Kapur says, likening it to Napster's disruption of the music industry.
One of the series' most striking elements is its unique design.
Shekhar Kapur reveals that the spaceships are inspired by jellyfish and are envisioned as living, organic vessels.
"In the distant future, we'll have materials that will heal themselves. So spaceships will be made out of living materials and organic materials that heal and live," said Shekhar Kapur as quoted in the press note.
These organic ships move through space "like sails using the winds of the universe," propelled by "the force of the particles, the fundamental particles of space."
The Warlord universe will expand into films and games, while the director plans to establish an AI-focused film school in Mumbai's Dharavi.