Russia’s AI Is Building Its Own Batman
An upcoming animated feature will use artificial intelligence to design characters, generate visuals, and even help shape the story.
In a first for Russia, an AI-powered full-length animated film is now in production — and its creators say it could redefine how digital heroes are made. The project is being developed by the Samovar creative studio in partnership with the Irkutsk Agency for Innovation, whose director, Artem Ovsyannikov, shared details with TASS.
According to Ovsyannikov, the film’s premiere is planned for 2027–2028, with a three-minute teaser trailer already complete.
The hybrid process dramatically reduces production costs to about 50 million rubles (roughly $550,000), making it five to ten times cheaper than traditional 3D animation in Russia — without sacrificing quality.
Meet Timen, Russia’s digital superhero
The film’s plot unfolds around an alternate history of Lake Baikal, where an underground civilization called Siba lives. Its protagonist, Timen, is a humanoid robot who always finds creative, optimistic solutions in impossible situations — a kind of AI-born moral compass.
The creators hope Timen will grow into a national mascot for digital literacy, a distinctly Russian answer to Batman or Superman. Alongside the feature film, the team is producing a series of short educational animations to promote online safety and familiarize audiences with their new hero.
With AI shaping nearly every stage of production — from concept art to sound design — the project is both a cinematic experiment and a glimpse into how artificial intelligence could soon transform the future of storytelling.
