One of Stanley Kubrick's passion projects was left up to Steven Spielbergafter his death in 1999 from a heart attack. The E.T. director reveals he was in the midst of leading another hit film franchise, Harry Potter, when he left to fulfill the late director's wish.
In a clip from Turner Classic Movies, Spielberg opened up about what led him to turn down directing the first installment of the J.K. Rowling movie franchise. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence was years in the making by Kubrick before his death and its 2001 release. Spielberg reveals that he was asked to finish the film as the late director intended.
"There was no script and after his death, then I was at the funeral, at his home in Saint Albans. Christiane and Jan Harlan approached me about taking over from Stanley and, as Stanley intended, directing the movie," he recalled.
The Jaws director also added that Harry Potter was already on schedule to be his next big blockbuster. He had begun giving casting suggestions for some of the characters who were going to be played by older actors. In the end, Spielberg knew the film was going to be a box-office success with or without him.
"But I gave it up. It was going to be a huge movie because the book was already a runaway cultural phenomenon as a book. I gave that up to essentially do A.I." he said.
Steven Spielberg explains why he walked away from directing the first Harry Potter film, so he could take over filming AI: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE from Stanley Kubrick.See the film tonight as the director joins us for an evening of his films. pic.twitter.com/5TgSCf3Mn4
— TCM (@tcm) June 9, 2026A.I. Artificial Intelligence is based on a 1969 short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long" by Brian Aldiss, that Kubrik bought the rights to in the late 1970s. The film became developmental hell despite Kubrick hiring a series of writers and was shelved for some time while the director worked on other projects. Reports state that Kubrick felt computer-generated imagery wasn't up to par with what he wanted to achieve for the film.
The film was soon passed on to Spielberg, with it having gained traction after Kubrick's death. Spielberg decided to stick closely to writer Ian Watson's work, with the movie being dedicated to the late director. It made over $235 million at the box office versus its $100 million budget. It's often been ranked as one of the greatest films, with anyone close to the director commenting on how Spielberg adored Kubrick.
Related: 'The Sandlot' Star Patrick Renna Announces Reunion with Original Cast for New Comedy Series
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