HomeiQIYI Unveils First AI-Generated Film 'Soul Ferry · Floating Dream' Set for Summer 2026
iQIYI has announced that "Soul Ferry: Floating Dream," China's first fully AI-generated feature film, is officially set for a summer 2026 release. Co-produced by iQIYI and Changxin Media, the film features Guo Jingyu—producer of "The Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty"—as executive producer, alongside original screenwriter Xiao Jixiang and director Ding Kuan. This marks a major milestone in film industrialization, where generative AI has evolved from a supporting tool into a comprehensive creative process.
Based on the classic supernatural IP "Soul Ferry," the film leverages deep learning and generative models to build characters, settings, and narrative structures from start to finish. A standout technical achievement is AI's ability to recreate the youthful digital likenesses of the iconic trio "Zhao Li, Xia Dongqing, and Wang Xiaoya," while also producing surreal visual effects impossible with traditional filming—such as the "Data Flow Meng Po Soup" and the "AI dynamically generated sea of other shore flowers." The project aims to push beyond physical shooting limitations using AI algorithms, exploring new forms of "Oriental Supernatural" storytelling in the digital age.
This bold move has stirred significant debate within the industry. Executive producer Guo Jingyu had previously expressed caution about AI replacing live actor performances, leading some to question the consistency of his involvement. Market reactions are equally divided: supporters see AI breaking the boundaries of visual imagination, while critics worry that AI-generated performances, lacking emotional nuance, may trigger the uncanny valley effect and risk over-exploitation of classic IPs.
As a landmark experiment in AI's deep integration into filmmaking, "Soul Ferry: Floating Dream" serves not just as a real-world test of generative AI's capacity in long-form video, but its commercial performance and critical reception will become key industry benchmarks for determining how far AI can go in artistic creation.
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iQIYI has announced that "Soul Ferry: Floating Dream," China's first fully AI-generated feature film, is officially set for a summer 2026 release. Co-produced by iQIYI and Changxin Media, the film features Guo Jingyu—producer of "The Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty"—as executive producer, alongside original screenwriter Xiao Jixiang and director Ding Kuan. This marks a major milestone in film industrialization, where generative AI has evolved from a supporting tool into a comprehensive creative process.
Based on the classic supernatural IP "Soul Ferry," the film leverages deep learning and generative models to build characters, settings, and narrative structures from start to finish. A standout technical achievement is AI's ability to recreate the youthful digital likenesses of the iconic trio "Zhao Li, Xia Dongqing, and Wang Xiaoya," while also producing surreal visual effects impossible with traditional filming—such as the "Data Flow Meng Po Soup" and the "AI dynamically generated sea of other shore flowers." The project aims to push beyond physical shooting limitations using AI algorithms, exploring new forms of "Oriental Supernatural" storytelling in the digital age.
This bold move has stirred significant debate within the industry. Executive producer Guo Jingyu had previously expressed caution about AI replacing live actor performances, leading some to question the consistency of his involvement. Market reactions are equally divided: supporters see AI breaking the boundaries of visual imagination, while critics worry that AI-generated performances, lacking emotional nuance, may trigger the uncanny valley effect and risk over-exploitation of classic IPs.
As a landmark experiment in AI's deep integration into filmmaking, "Soul Ferry: Floating Dream" serves not just as a real-world test of generative AI's capacity in long-form video, but its commercial performance and critical reception will become key industry benchmarks for determining how far AI can go in artistic creation.
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