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What Show Did Netflix Use Video-Generating AI In? The Eternaut’s VFX Shot

By Freedom251 Team · · 2 min read

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Netflix says it used generative AI to create final visual-effects footage for The Eternaut (El Eternauta), its Argentine science-fiction series. The reported shot shows a building collapsing in Buenos Aires. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos called it the first generative-AI final footage to appear in a Netflix original series or film, and said the sequence was completed ten times faster and at lower cost than with traditional visual-effects workflows. Those claims come from Sarandos; the specific AI system and production details have not been disclosed.

What show used video-generating AI?

The show is The Eternaut (El Eternauta), an Argentine Netflix series released globally on April 30, 2025. It adapts the 1957 graphic novel by writer Héctor G. Oesterheld and illustrator Francisco Solano López; K&S Films was a production partner. Netflix’s series page describes the adaptation, while Netflix’s release announcement gives the global date and production partner.

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What did the AI-generated visual effect show?

The reported use was in a visual-effects sequence depicting a building collapsing in Buenos Aires. Sarandos described the result as “the very first GenAI final footage to appear on screen in a Netflix, Inc. original series or film,” according to TechCrunch’s July 18, 2025 report.

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That “first” is specifically about generative-AI final footage appearing in a Netflix original series or film. It does not establish that Netflix had never used any kind of AI in other production tasks. The sources do not identify the model or vendor, explain the prompts or workflow, or break down which parts of the shot were AI-generated.

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How much faster or cheaper was the sequence?

Sarandos said the sequence was completed ten times faster than it could have been using traditional visual-effects workflows and at lower cost. The report gives no dollar amounts, comparison baseline, or independent assessment, so the figures should be read as Netflix’s account rather than a verified production benchmark. It also does not establish that other shots in the series were made this way.

What is known about the production?

Associated Press reported that Netflix did not disclose the series’ budget. It also reported Netflix figures of 2,900 people involved in production, four years of pre- and post-production, and a $34 million contribution to Argentina’s economy. That economic contribution is not the show’s budget. Associated Press’s production report provides that context.

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Why the claim matters—and what it does not prove

The example is notable because Netflix says generative AI contributed to final footage in a released show, not merely to a behind-the-scenes or planning task. The claim suggests one possible production use: accelerating a particular effects sequence while reducing its cost. But one executive-reported shot does not show how broadly the technique was used, whether the claimed savings apply to other projects, or how the result compares with conventional effects on quality or control.

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For the story behind the adaptation, Netflix identifies The Eternaut as the first screen adaptation of Oesterheld and López’s graphic novel, first published in 1957. Netflix Media Center provides the series and source-work details.

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