Artifical Intelligence, Cinema, and Biblical Christianity

On Tuesday, February 10, 2026, an AI-generated video shook the internet when an Irish filmmaker named Ruairí Robinson shared on his social media feed an AI likeness of actors. Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting atop of a building among a cityscape. There are several other videos this filmmaker has released: There is Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise fighting with dialogue:

Several other videos produced by this filmmaker feature Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise fighting side by side against a robot, and Brad Pitt taking on a zombie ninja. All of these were projects from the filmmaker to show how artificial intelligence (A.I.) has rapidly developed over a short period of time. Even the first video of actor and entertainer Will Smith in his famous AI spaghetti video, barely recognizable in 2023 when the video was first released, is eating spaghetti dialoging with a person in an AI video in 2026, as seen in this clip.

As a result of the realistic videos featuring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, Hollywood has become deeply concerned about the future of media, particularly cinema.. Rett Reese, the director of the Deadpool trilogy and Zombieland had noted that the entertainment profession is more than likely over as we know it.

As Hollywood seeks to find its way with this new technology, how ought this to impact us, believers in Christ who are seeking to communicate the word of God to the world at large? The author believes that at this moment, this offers serious believers in the arts and entertainment an incredible opportunity to be creative.

Throughout history, Christians have used the arts and entertainment to communicate biblical truths. We observe in the word of God itself the use of poetry and prose within the Book of Psalms, to the use of story and parables by Jesus to communicate specific truths to the Israelite nation in the gospels, and even through church history with the use of drama and theatre in the Medival period . Even to the advent of theatrical releases of Christian movies for the purpose of evangelism (as bad as those movies were back in the day, but this is another matter). To composers writing songs to recognize God through their compositions, and to writers of short stories and fiction laced with biblical principles, believers have sought to use the media to reflect not only the character of God and the virtues humankind ought to pursue, but also to communicate the very gospel itself. The introduction of artificial intelligence, if believers play their cards properly, could open the door to an arts and entertainment renaissance unlike we have ever seen.

There have been several challenges in the past that have prevented or slowed the production of (good) biblical movies. One such challenge is raising funds to produce such a movie. Often, a producer's responsibility is to secure funding from investors and production companies to finance the project, including actors and actresses, photographers, writers, production designers, costume and makeup artists, and all the other expenses that go into making a movie. The funding also goes to special effects and post-production work, all of which take capital. This is what makes movies extremely expensive to make, and more often than not, ideas for movies get scrapped for this reason. However, with the advancement of AI, a person would not need to raise millions of dollars to produce a movie. Where in the past it took hundreds of people to be involved in a cinematic project, with the advancement of AI programs, a person may be able to achieve the same feature with only a small team. In effect, this keeps production costs relatively low. This places believers at a significant advantage, as money may no longer be an obstacle to making good movies with clear biblical themes.

Another challenge that has prevented (good) Christian movies is the writing. At times, Christian movies can feature dialogue that is ham-fisted or even unnatural, which reduces the overall viewing experience for those watching. Artificial intelligence also assists with this, as there are AI programs that give writers suggestions to help them write dialogue that sounds more appropriate for the scene being filmed (or generated). There are even programs that capture a person's natural writing or speaking style based on word choice, cadence, and other markers. These programs may greatly increase continuity between characters in the movie.

The last challenge is marketing. Marketing can make or break a movie. Yet with social media and how this can be leveraged to promote a movie at a fairly reasonable price this may no longer be an obsticle. Christian movies has leveraged social media recently with the promotion of David the animated movie creating a campaign where children could watch the movie for free. The use of platforms such as YouTube and Rumble could be used to not only release trailers (whis is a customary practice of movie studios to do) but even a 5-10 minute clip to intice people to become intrested in the movie, which in turn can be posted on social media.

The point is that all the impediments that prevented Christian movies from being produced and filmed may no longer be a barrier, and we may see an explosion of all kinds of movies based on biblical stories and themes in the very near future. From the live action movies of the first twelve chapters of Genesis, to an action movie of Moses and the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt. To a theatrical drama of the life of the prophet Elijah, to a made-for-television show about the book of Daniel that has an epic "Game of Thrones" feel to it, to a movie that attempts to give the audience a "faithful" rendering of the Book of Revelation. Additionally, there is much Christian fiction that is published in written form. AI invites the opportunity to create these books and bring them to television and movie screens worldwide.

Even though there is an amazing opportunity to create great media and content with the development of these AI programs there is a caveat that ought to be mentioned: With this great influence there comes great responsibility to make sure that the biblical principles that we seek to highlight within these narratives there ought to be caution making sure that we make sure our theology matches our biblicism. Not all systems of theology and theological doctrines are created equal, and it is possible that Christian creatives may produce movies and shows that do not align with biblical truth, even if they are entertaining. This does not include some artisitic license that is meant to enhance or amplify the main story, however creating in any medium we ought to be cautious, and for us who endose a consistent normative grammatical historical and cultural method of reading and understand the Scriptures ought to contunue to use whose this method to gain a clearer understanding of the Scriptures and highlight the principles within various areas of media from that clear understanding.

Given the lack of creative, meaningful art and entertainment, people may be seeking entertainment with purpose and meaning, especially parents and caregivers of young children. A believer who desires to work in the arts and entertainment has an incredible opportunity in this time in history to create compelling, truthful shows and movies. These programs, although extremely sophisticated and better than the first-generation AI in 2023, can only continue to improve over time and will become even easier to produce. As the world and technology develop, may we, as believers, continue to use these tools, as we have in the past, to leverage them for the acknowledgment of God.

Until Next Time...

Soli Deo Gloria!

Dr. LS