Netflix Tests Runway AI’s Video Tools to Boost Content Creation and Cut VFX Costs

Netflix is quietly experimenting with Runway AI's video-generation tools to enhance its content production process, according to a Bloomberg-sourced report. While the company has not confirmed the extent or specifics, this move follows co-CEO Ted Sarandos' revelation that Netflix used generative AI for a VFX-driven collapse scene in its Argentine sci-fi series The Eternauta—completing it ten times faster and at a lower cost than traditional methods.

The pilot testing comes amid a broader push by streaming platforms and studios, including Disney, Lionsgate, and AMC, toward integrating tools like Runway for efficient video creation and visual effects. This reflects a wider shift in the entertainment industry: AI is increasingly being used not to displace creatives, but to empower them, reducing reliance on costly, time-consuming traditional VFX workflows.

Why It Matters

Faster VFX pipelines: Runway enables production of complex scenes—like building collapses—much more quickly than conventional CGI.

Cost efficiencies: Generative AI helps Netflix trim visual effects budgets while maintaining cinematic quality.

Industry-wide adoption: As major studios test Runway AI, Netflix’s move highlights the growing acceptance of AI tools in mainstream film and TV.

Creative enhancement: According to Netflix leaders, AI complements—not replaces—human creativity by streamlining tasks from pre-vis to final VFX.