AI video generation startup Luma has launched a new production company, Innovative Dreams, in partnership with faith-focused streaming service Wonder Project. The studio will utilise Luma's AI tools to create a novel "real-time hybrid filmmaking" process, with its first project, "The Old Stories: Moses," starring Ben Kingsley, set for release on Amazon Prime Video this spring.
The partnership, announced on Thursday, represents a significant move from AI tool provider to full-scale production. Luma founder and CEO Amit Jain has argued that generative AI can address Hollywood's soaring costs by making filmmaking "faster, cheaper, and more efficient without sacrificing quality."
A New Production Paradigm
Innovative Dreams will combine techniques from high-budget filmmaking, such as the performance capture used in "Avatar" and the virtual production seen in "The Mandalorian." However, Luma's technology aims to execute these processes live and at a lower cost. Director Jon Erwin, who co-runs Wonder Project, stated the tools allow filmmakers to place a human actor, filmed anywhere, into a photorealistic AI-generated scene or even map their performance onto a completely different AI-generated face.
"This is a significant improvement over the current virtual production and performance capture processes where things come together only in post," Luma said in a statement. "This is the leverage of AI — not just faster or cheaper, but better than what came before."
Strategic Shift and Industry Context
Luma is not alone in this strategic pivot. Last week, AI startup Higgsfield launched its own original sci-fi series, and London-based Wonder Studios is collaborating on a documentary. The launch coincides with public statements from competitors like Runway's co-CEO, Cristóbal Valenzuela, who suggested studios should use AI to produce 50 films for the cost of one traditional blockbuster to increase their odds of success.
Wonder Project, launched in 2023 by Erwin and former Netflix executive Kelly Hoogstraten, focuses on serving the global faith and values audience. Its previous series, "House of David," was released on Amazon Prime in 2025. It remains unclear if Innovative Dreams will work exclusively on faith-based content or expand to other genres.
Defining the Technology
Performance capture involves actors in marker suits in a green-screen environment, with their movements and expressions digitally captured for animation. Virtual production typically uses massive LED screens displaying real-time game-engine graphics as a backdrop, blending physical and digital elements during the shoot. Luma's proposed hybrid model seeks to integrate and enhance these methods through AI.
Future of AI in Filmmaking
The launch of Innovative Dreams signals a growing confidence among AI firms in moving from providing assistive tools to managing entire creative productions. The venture's success could influence how major studios allocate budgets and approach the physical logistics of filmmaking, potentially shifting more creative iteration into the pre-production and live shooting phases.