A viral clip hit social media this week, showing Tom Cruise throwing down with Brad Pitt. It wasn’t a clip from a new movie, but an AI-generated scene created from a single prompt in ByteDance's shiny new Seedance 2.0. Naturally, Hollywood insiders are losing their minds, and frankly, as much as AI scares the crap out of me, I’m kind of enjoying seeing them sweat.
This was a 2 line prompt in seedance 2. If the hollywood is cooked guys are right maybe the hollywood is cooked guys are cooked too idk. pic.twitter.com/dNTyLUIwAV
— Ruairi Robinson (@RuairiRobinson) February 11, 2026
I don’t care what you think about this situation with AI-generated movies, but let’s be honest, Hollywood deserves to be scared about what’s happening, and maybe it will be the wake-up call they need. They're churning out endless low-rent sequels and woke garbage nobody asked for.
Disney didn't waste a second pressing the panic button. On Friday, they fired off a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance's top lawyer, John Rogovin, slamming the company for stuffing Seedance with a "pirated library of Disney's copyrighted characters from Star Wars, Marvel, and other Disney franchises, as if Disney's coveted intellectual property were free public domain clip art." Disney's outside attorney, David Singer, called it a "virtual smash-and-grab" that's "willful, pervasive, and totally unacceptable."
He warned that it's just the tip of the iceberg, even after only a few days on the market, and I don’t doubt he’s right. Do you remember that cringey clip of AI Will Smith eating spaghetti? That was only three years ago.
The progression in AI of Will Smith eating spaghetti (2023 - 2026) pic.twitter.com/VDv82mB5gs
— internet hall of fame (@InternetH0F) February 10, 2026
That tells you just how rapidly AI is advancing. AI is going to change things, and I think Hollywood will be the first major casualty. When you crap on audiences long enough, what do you think is going to happen?
Studios can cry theft all they want, but they won’t be able to stop the advancement of this technology, and they’ll likely be forced to embrace it to adapt. I have no doubt that it’s going to change the industry. Before long, we’ll probably see famous actors license their likenesses for AI-generated films. Stunt workers will probably no longer be needed eventually, because why spend the money to set up stunts and risk injuries when you can let AI do the job for you?
Obviously, there's a ton of bad stuff that can come of this, too. Earlier this month, major news networks used an AI-enhanced photo of Alex Pretti because he looked slightly more attractive in it. In the past couple of months, AI-edited photos and videos have gone viral on social media, claiming to show President Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein and young girls. They were all fake, but still convincing.
But I'm just talking about Hollywood right now.
Inevitably, Hollywood will be cut out of the loop entirely. Think about it. Right now, you got Seedance churning out pro-level action scenes. It really wouldn’t shock me to see five years from now, people inputting their favorite novels into an AI and spitting out a full-length flick. Or authors who never got a movie adaptation from a big studios generating their own movies for their fans. Imagine being able to revive a canceled one-season gem like Firefly or Freaks and Geeks with fresh episodes from simple storyline prompts. Loved a movie but can’t stand a horrible miscast? Swap out the actor. Can’t stand that terrible Seinfeld series finale? Just make your own. Authors and fans could bypass the studios entirely.
It’s all coming.
