Ben Affleck Shares A Quirky Ending to Succession Season 4 Finale With AI Help

Ben Affleck imagines a new Succession ending, suggesting AI could let fans create custom episodes with surprising twists. READ

By Anushka Solanki

Published on Nov 15, 2024 | 11:27 PM IST | 55.6K

Ben Affleck in Gone Girl [Image Via Regency Enterprises, TSG Entertainment], Kendall Roy in Succession [Image via HBO, Max]

Ben Affleck recently shared his thoughts on AI's potential in entertainment and even pitched an alternate ending to HBO’s hit series Succession. Speaking at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha 2024 event, Affleck highlighted how artificial intelligence might reshape storytelling, allowing fans to create personalized versions of popular shows.

Affleck suggested that, in the future, viewers could pay for customized episodes of their favorite series. To illustrate, he proposed his hypothetical finale for Succession. In his scenario, Kendall Roy, one of the show’s central figures, secures control of Waystar RoyCo and embarks on an affair with his childhood friend Stewy Hosseini. The crowd’s reaction and subsequent online chatter revealed just how unexpected and imaginative this idea was.

While Affleck’s is very different from Succession’s actual ending, it touches on niche fan theories that speculate about a deeper connection between Kendall and Stewy. Fans on social media were quick to draw parallels between Affleck’s idea and his own close friendship with Matt Damon. The duo’s decades-long bond has often been the subject of lighthearted speculation and jokes, adding an extra layer of humor to Affleck’s remarks. One post humorously noted that Affleck’s pitch reflects a “childhood best friends to lovers” trope.

Affleck used his imaginative example to underscore his belief that while AI could help generate content, it would struggle to replicate the depth and nuance of human creativity. “AI can write you excellent imitative verse,” he said, but it cannot capture the unique process of human collaboration in filmmaking. As fans reacted with a mix of amusement and admiration for Affleck’s take, the conversation highlighted the growing intersection of technology and creativity in Hollywood. The full clip of his discussion is available on CNBC’s YouTube channel.

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