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Amazon-Backed Fable Uses AI to Recreate Lost Orson Welles Film Scenes

Cansin Cengiz

06 Sep 2025 — 2 min read

AI Startup Fable Attempts to Revive Orson Welles’ Lost Film Footage

In a move stirring both excitement and controversy, AI startup Fable—supported by Amazon’s Alexa Fund—has announced plans to digitally reconstruct the missing 43 minutes of Orson Welles’ 1942 classic, The Magnificent Ambersons. This project aims to leverage Fable’s new AI narrative model to recreate what many consider cinema’s greatest lost masterpiece.

Why Is Fable Taking On This Project?

Fable positions itself as the “Netflix of AI,” providing users with tools to create animated stories through AI prompts. While the platform currently focuses on original content, its ambitions extend to collaborating with major entertainment IPs in the future. The attempt to revive Welles’ lost footage serves as a high-profile demonstration of the platform’s capabilities—though, notably, Fable has yet to secure rights to the film.

The Technology Behind the Resurrection

Fable’s newly launched AI model claims to generate long, complex narratives. To test these capabilities, filmmaker Brian Rose—well-known for his extensive digital efforts to restore Welles’ vision—will spearhead the project. Over the next two years, Rose and Fable plan to recreate the destroyed scenes using a mix of AI and traditional filmmaking. This includes reshooting sequences with contemporary actors, whose faces will be digitally replaced by the original cast members.

Copyright Controversy and Mixed Reception

The announcement has not been without backlash. Fable did not consult Welles’ estate, drawing criticism from family representatives who see the move as capitalizing on Welles’ legacy without permission. David Reeder, who manages the estate for Welles’ daughter, described the project as an attempt to generate publicity on the back of Welles’ creative genius and dismissed it as a purely mechanical exercise without any of the uniquely innovative thinking [of] a creative force like Welles. Despite these strong words, Reeder also noted the estate’s openness to AI technologies for voice work—highlighting that the main issue is the lack of communication, not the use of AI itself.

Why “The Magnificent Ambersons”?

While Welles’ Citizen Kane remains the more celebrated work, The Magnificent Ambersons is infamous among film buffs for how the studio slashed Welles’ original cut and replaced its ending, leaving a sense of creative loss that has echoed for decades. For filmmaker Brian Rose, this project is about honoring Welles’ vision—even if some believe technology cannot restore the artistry lost to history. Rose lamented the destruction of a four-minute-long, unbroken moving camera shot whose loss is a tragedy, underscoring the emotional motivation behind the project.

Can AI Truly Restore Lost Art?

Despite the technical promise, many argue that no AI-generated reconstruction can capture the essence of Welles’ original work. Even if Fable and Rose succeed in producing a convincing facsimile, it will always remain just that—a facsimile, not the lost masterpiece itself. Unless the original footage is miraculously found, the world will only ever know fragments of Welles’ intended film.

Looking Forward

Fable’s effort is a bold experiment at the intersection of AI, creativity, and intellectual property rights. Whether it sets a precedent for future AI-driven film restorations or serves as a cautionary tale about the limits of artificial creativity remains to be seen.