It’s the night before Christmas, and it’s time to build a snowman. But the participants in this activity aren’t just any schoolchildren — a cameras pans to Hogwarts’ finest: Harry, Hermione Ron. That’s not all.
Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool is there, as is Kevin McCallister (Macauley Culkin in his star-making role from “Home Alone”). A muscle car revs down the lane, and inside is Keanu Reeves’ John Wick. After an off-color joke, he peels off and in comes Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto from the “Fast and Furious” franchise. Our scene ends with all parties riding shotgun with Diesel, sipping from Corona bottles and driving into the wintry night.
This is not some unprecedented multiverse sequel designed to earn $1 billion in box office. It was a scene created by AI and disseminated wide across the internet nearly a month ago. For some, it demonstrated the novelty of AI tools and how they might mash up beloved characters. For others, particularly in the industry, it demonstrated the fight ahead to protect intellectual property as tech moves miles faster than policy.
In his first interview, the clip’s creator Andrii Daniels estimates nearly 5 million people watched his two-part fantasia, titled “Harry Potter and the Christmas Trap,” on Instagram alone. His recent work has received nearly 17 million views across platforms including X, according to data he shared with Variety.
What viewers didn’t see was the 40 hours Daniels spent laboring on the project from inside a bomb shelter during a 2025 missile attack in Kyiv. The Ukrainian filmmaker has been creating “fan tributes,” as he called them, under a blanket of explosions since 2022. His work has never reached the kind of audiences it did over the most recent holiday break. As a non-English speaker, Daniels preferred to be interviewed via email (though Variety did confirm his identity via Zoom). Here, we discuss his work as an escape from the horrors of war and the remarkable reach of “Christmas Trap.”
AI filmmaker Andrii Daniels
Made with Google AI
How did you get started in entertainment and media?
I’ve always had two passions: films and writing. The movie industry is notoriously tough to break into, so I decided to pursue writing instead. I started freelancing and landed a gig with OK! Magazine and Radar Online, as well as other publications. As AI became more advanced, the demand for freelance writing services decreased tremendously. But instead of giving up and blaming AI for taking my job, I decided to master the tools myself. When I started, my sister was already well-versed in AI technology, so she helped me cut through the ‘information overload’ of the AI landscape in just a few weeks. When working with AI, you need to know exactly which tools work and which don’t for your specific goals.
What drew you to cinema?
I grew up captivated by the movie magic of the big screen. For years, I studied and analyzed movies, but as an independent creator, I was limited by the “physics” of traditional production. That changed in the summer of 2025. I started experimenting with generative AI tools and realized they were a new kind of lens. For the first time, I could direct scenes that were previously only possible with a million-dollar studio budget. AI finally allowed my technical skills in cinematography to catch up with the scale of my imagination. High costs of traditional production are a barrier to entry for independent creators. What I love most about AI filmmaking is the democratization of the craft.
Did you expect your Christmas clip to hit the way it did?
I honestly didn’t expect it to reach millions. My videos usually average around 2,000 views. There were moments when I felt truly discouraged and asked myself, “Why am I even doing this?” Imagine my surprise when my video got 500,000 views overnight. When I woke up and saw the numbers, I couldn’t believe my eyes. This viral moment taught me that creative success isn’t about the first attempt. It’s about refusing to give up when it seems that no one is watching your content. For me, this project was a transformative fan tribute, a way to explore how these different worlds could collide in a festive, unexpected setting and to give cinema lovers like me a Christmas gift by imagining this bizarre multiverse mashup of characters.
How long did it take you to complete that clip?
The project took approximately 40 hours of intensive work from the initial concept to the final export. But those hours represented much more than just a production timeline. I live in Ukraine, and for me, filmmaking has become a vital sanctuary. In a reality where we face constant missile attacks, the hum of drones and power outages that last 12-18 hours a day, immersion in this digital world is my way of escaping the horrors of war. Orchestrating the scenes in my AI films allows me to reclaim a sense of control and beauty when the world outside feels like the opposite. This is part of our collective resilience here in Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainians have learned to find a sanctuary in our work and our passions while life hangs by a thread.
Did you write the script copy, stage direction and the jokes yourself, or did your AI software generate those elements?
Every word of the script, every joke, and every beat of the stage direction came directly from me. I’ve had this specific concept in my mind for a long time, well before AI tools even existed. I was always fascinated by how these different cinematic worlds would clash if they were forced into the same room. For years, it was just an idea in my notebook. With AI tools, I could finally bridge the gap between my imagination and the screen.
There’s a lot of talk in Hollywood now about AI and copyright violations, were you nervous about making this featuring characters from massive intellectual property?
I am aware of those conversations, and I have a deep respect for the studios and creators who built these worlds. I wasn’t nervous in a traditional sense because my intentions were always clear: this is a transformative work of parody and social commentary.
It is distinctly not a market substitute. No one would watch a two-minute festive parody instead of the original feature-length films. It exists as a separate artistic commentary. I have a deep respect for the copyright holders, which is why I included a clear disclaimer stating this is a 100% independent, non-commercial fan project.
In the legal world, there is a long history of fans creating tributes to the stories they love. I view my film as a modern evolution of that tradition. Especially given my current situation in Ukraine, working on this for 40 hours during blackouts and air raid alerts was my way of finding a sanctuary in the stories that have shaped my life. It was a labor of love, meant to celebrate these icons — not to compete with them.
Talk about the response to the clip, good and bad.
The response has been a fascinating look at how audiences perceive AI filmmaking at this point. The good was seeing the audience engage with the script and the humor. Seeing the global response to my specific stage direction and script was incredibly rewarding. I spent three days straight just trying to sort through my DMs. I think I finally understand what content creators with thousands of followers go through now. Beyond the praise, the most surprising thing was how many people reached out asking for my AI courses and tutorials.
There has also been a fair share of inevitable skepticism that comes with AI technology. Some commenters referred to it as “AI slop,” a term used for low-effort, mass-produced AI visuals. I don’t take the negative comments personally because every transformative technology in cinema has been met with similar labels.
Have you heard from any of the studios or content owners involved in the characters you’ve used?
No, I haven’t had any direct communication from the studios or intellectual property owners. In the creative industry, high-quality fan tributes are a testament to the enduring cultural impact of these franchises. I think the industry generally understands the value of fan engagement, especially when it’s handled with the level of respect and transparency I’ve included in my disclaimer.
Should Hollywood be embracing work like yours, that joins and celebrates characters from different worlds?
I believe there is a tremendous opportunity for the industry to explore the spirit of innovation that AI tools offer. My work isn’t a replacement for the massive, coordinated efforts of major studios. It’s a transformative exploration of what’s possible. The industry could embrace this as a new form of cultural engagement. My work isn’t a challenge to Hollywood’s business model — it’s a collaborative signal because it shows exactly what makes fans excited.
