'I am so excited to see it': The first trailer for Artificial is here — and it'll star Andrew Garfield as controversial OpenAI boss Sam Altman in Neon's dark comedy-drama about the rise of ChatGPT

'We get to be the ones to shepherd people into this new world'

by · TechRadar

News By Tom Power Published 9 September 2026

Andrew Garfield will star as controversial OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman (Image credit: Neon)

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  • The first trailer for Neon's Sam Altman biopic Artificial has been revealed
  • The Andrew Garfield-led movie will be released in late 2026/early 2027
  • It covers Altman's controversial rise to prominence as OpenAI's co-founder

The first trailer for Artificial, a movie about controversial OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, has been revealed.

Unveiled yesterday (September 8), the teaser for the Neon-distributed film strikes an unusually sinister tone for what's being billed as a biographical comedy-drama.

Artificial - Official Teaser Trailer - In Theaters Christmas Day - YouTube

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Indeed, from the gun-laden room that lead star Andrew Garfield, who'll portray Altman, visits, to Garfield's unsettling voiceover that plays over Artificial's publicly-released footage, it's certainly foreboding in nature. I get the feeling, then, that it'll be a dark-comedy dramatization of Altman's rise of prominence, the launch of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT, and his brief and somewhat disputable ousting as OpenAI CEO in late 2023.

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Artificial will initially debut in US theaters on December 25, 2026, before receiving a wider international rollout in early 2027. UK viewers, for example, will have to wait until January 22, 2027 to catch one of many new movies that'll arrive in the months ahead.

Artificial cast and crew: who's involved?

Garfield (left) will be joined by a whole host of famous faces in Artificial (Image credit: Neon)

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (Challengers, Call Me By Your Name) is on directing duties, while Saturday Night Live writing alumnus Simon Rich has penned its screenplay. Meanwhile, Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn has also created original music and songs for Artificial.

Where the movie's cast is concerned, Garfield, who impersonates another Silicon Valley techbro following his portrayal of Eduardo Savarin in The Social Network, aka the 2010 dramatization about Facebook's creation, is arguably its most recognizable star — and based on what little footage we've seen thus far, he appears to have Altman's mannerisms, vernacular, and other unique traits down to a tee.

Here's who else you'll see in Artificial:

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