Danny Boyle used generative AI in Ink for the newsroom mice and some archive photos
Danny Boyle’s latest made its Venice Film Festival debut this week — but the real talking point is what he’s called it.
For anyone wondering what Danny Boyle has been up to since guiding Nia DaCosta through 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (yes, she handled that one — and rather well), you might be surprised by his next step. Before Boyle jumps back into his dystopian Britain full of homicidal zombies, he's taken a detour into something arguably just as terrifying: the British press.
Boyle Takes On The Tabloids
Ink is Boyle's latest, landing in cinemas for 2026, and it turns its lens on the birth of The Sun newspaper. If you've ever wondered how the UK wound up with the country's most notorious red-top, here's the dramatised answer. Jack O'Connell stars as Larry Lamb — the man Murdoch hired to stir things up — while Guy Pearce slips into the shoes of Rupert Murdoch himself. You can thank James Graham's stage play for the script, which has made the leap to screen. Ink had its big unveiling at the Venice Film Festival, pulling in very positive reactions straight out of the gate.
There's about 30 seconds of it in our movie where we animate a couple of old photographs. Oh, and there's some mice. It's very good for animals, and we had some mice that run around The Sun newsroom.
That was Boyle walking Vanity Fair through the behind-the-scenes technical wizardry. He's long been wary of bringing actual animals onto set (if you remember the PETA drama over 28 Days Later, you'll know why), so this time, Boyle made use of generative AI for a short burst of the film. To save the hassle — and presumably any protest letters — the mice dashing about The Sun's newsroom are digital, as are a handful of animated old photos.
Read more: Venice saw Danny Boyle's film about Murdoch buying The Sun, and the reactions are ecstatic
Boyle didn't specify exactly which images received the AI treatment, but fans online are convinced that faces like the Kray twins and Margaret Thatcher get a surreal digital resurrection in at least one sequence. In any case, Boyle's comments seem to confirm there's something to those guesses. What's fairly refreshing is that Boyle, restless tinkerer that he is, doesn't sound particularly precious about AI in general:
My opinion of it is that it's a very useful tool in many ways, provided you use it respectfully and provided you pay actors if you're going to replace them with some kind of AI embodiment.
He makes it clear that his own thoughts on the matter aren't the main thing — he's more interested in how the younger crowd will handle it (or, presumably, riot if it all goes a bit Black Mirror). But he's hardly alone in dipping into the AI toolbox. Martin Scorsese has come out in favour of using it for storyboarding (he's even involved with the AI firm Black Forest Labs), while Steven Soderbergh copped to using some AI on his recent documentary, John Lennon: The Last Interview (2026).
Ink had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2026 to strong reviews.
Just to keep the timeline straight and the cast in check, here's a quick rundown:
- Danny Boyle – Director
- James Graham – Script (adapted from his play)
- Jack O'Connell – Larry Lamb
- Guy Pearce – Rupert Murdoch
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