Mads Mikkelsen & Diane Kruger Star in Sci-Fi Survival Thriller, “Ami”

A new sci-fi survival thriller called Ami has officially begun principal photography in Spain, and it brings together two of cinema’s most magnetic performers: Mads Mikkelsen and Diane Kruger. The project promises a blend of emotional intimacy and cosmic scale, with director Fernando Szurman making his move into feature filmmaking from a script by John Wesley Norton and Ezequiel Martinez Jr.

Mikkelsen is set to portray an astronaut who crash-lands on an uncharted planet following a catastrophic accident. Stranded with limited resources and mounting danger, he must rely on his wit, instincts, and the only companion left: an advanced AI named Ami, played by Kruger. The twist is that Ami is not just a cold machine. She’s coded to evolve, to help, and perhaps to question what it means to assist a human in crisis.

The core of Ami is survival under alien skies, but it’s also about memory, identity, and connection. As the astronaut navigates unfamiliar terrain and lethal threats, he confronts the fragility of human recollection and the weight of isolation. The presence of an AI companion heightens both tension and emotional resonance: who is really guiding who?

For Kruger, playing an AI may open up surprising avenues of subtle expression. Her performance may lie in how she modulates tone, reacts to failure, and evolves under pressure. Mikkelsen, who has shown a powerful skill in playing characters with layered moral complexity, brings gravity to the role, his astronaut could be stoic, vulnerable, or unraveling, depending on the pressure he faces.

The choice of Szurman as director is interesting. With Ami, he steps into a genre that asks for both visual ambition and narrative restraint. For a first feature, that’s daring. But the idea is clear: deliver a spectacle without losing sight of character. In that sense, Ami might contrast with big-budget blockbusters by leaning into tension, atmosphere, and personal stakes rather than explosions and set pieces.

Also intriguing will be the supporting cast, not yet fully disclosed. Could there be flashback figures, rescue teams, or even alien entities lurking? Will Kruger’s Ami have a physical presence beyond voice or interface? Will Mikkelsen’s character flash back to Earth, show more of his past, or reveal hidden wounds? These possibilities are what make a carefully plotted sci-fi thriller fun to watch unfold.

Of course, studios are often cautious with films that combine ambitious premises with relatively new directors. The success of Ami will depend on tone, pacing, performances, and how well the sci-fi conceits ground themselves in emotional truth. But the fact that production is already rolling suggests confidence in the material.

For fans of grounded science fiction, Ami is one to watch. It doesn’t promise intergalactic wars or vast alien civilizations. It promises a smaller, sharper story: a man alone, an AI alone, a world between them, and the test of survival. As filming continues in Spain, we’ll be on the lookout for stills, teaser clips, and casting reveals. When a project this clean in concept meets actors of this caliber, the possibilities are exciting.