iQIYI moves to produce fully AI-generated movie via Nadou Pro

This move represents a shift from AI as a post-production tool to a primary creative engine for long-form content. By attempting a fully synthetic feature film, iQIYI is testing the commercial viability of 'digital twins' as a solution for high production costs and actor scheduling. However, the immediate pushback from talent and the historical failure of OpenAI’s Sora suggest that licensing and audience authenticity remain severe bottlenecks. If successful, it could commoditize performance; if it fails, it confirms that human-centric intellectual property remains the industry's only stable moat. Watch for the Ferryman release's technical quality as a benchmark for AI's narrative maturity.

The iQIYI initiative arrives as China significantly tightens its regulatory oversight of synthetic media. Per multiple reports in June 2026, the State Administration of Radio and Television and the Cyberspace Administration of China have implemented mandatory labeling measures for all AI-generated content. These regulations, which became effective in late 2025 and 2026, require both explicit visual markers and implicit metadata to ensure the traceability of synthetic performances. In Shanghai, new policy measures were recently introduced to manage AI short-film production, offering up to 3 million yuan in support for businesses developing digital skill libraries while simultaneously enforcing stricter content censorship.

Globally, the entertainment industry is codifying the rights iQIYI is currently testing. Per the Independent and other outlets in June 2026, SAG-AFTRA members overwhelmingly ratified a new four-year contract that establishes a fundamental priority for human performances. The agreement mandates 'significant additional value' for the use of digital replicas and requires enhanced consent and residual payments for synthetic exploitation. This reflects a broader trend of performers and unions erecting legal barriers against the unauthorized or uncompensated use of digital identities, a direct counterpoint to iQIYI’s vision of actors licensing their likenesses to double their annual output. Additionally, while iQIYI scales Nadou Pro, which reported over 10,000 active creators by late May 2026, the collapse of OpenAI’s Sora in March 2026 serves as a major industry caution. Per The Wall Street Journal and NBC News, Sora's failure to monetize, combined with $1 million daily operating losses and the dissolution of a $1 billion partnership with Disney, suggests that high-fidelity AI video generation remains a financially volatile segment despite its technical promise.