Hollywood Reacts to New Seedance 2.0 Video Generator

Hollywood organizations are pushing back against a new AI video model called Seedance 2.0, which they claim has rapidly become a tool for "blatant" copyright infringement.

ByteDance, the Chinese company that recently finalized a deal to sell TikTok's U.S. operations (it retains a stake in the new joint venture), launched Seedance 2.0 earlier this week. According to the Wall Street Journal, the updated model is currently available to Chinese users of ByteDance's Jianying app, with plans to soon roll it out globally via its CapCut app.

Similar to tools like OpenAI's Sora, Seedance allows users to generate videos—currently capped at 15 seconds—simply by entering a text prompt. And like Sora, Seedance has quickly drawn criticism for its apparent lack of safeguards against creating videos using the likeness of real people or copyrighted studio properties.

After an X user posted a short video depicting Tom Cruise fighting Brad Pitt, which they claimed was created with "a 2 line prompt in seedance 2," "Deadpool" screenwriter Rhett Reese responded, "I hate to say it. It's likely over for us."

The Motion Picture Association soon issued a statement from CEO Charles Rivkin demanding that ByteDance "immediately cease its infringing activity."

"In a single day, the Chinese AI service Seedance 2.0 has engaged in unauthorized use of U.S. copyrighted works on a massive scale," Rivkin said. "By launching a service that operates without meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs."

The Human Artistry Campaign—an initiative backed by Hollywood unions and trade groups—condemned Seedance 2.0 as "an attack on every creator around the world," while the actors' union SAG-AFTRA stated it "stands with the studios in condemning the blatant infringement enabled by ByteDance's new AI video model Seedance 2.0."

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Seedance videos have reportedly featured Disney-owned characters like Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and Grogu (better known as Baby Yoda), prompting the company to pursue legal action. Axios reports that Disney has sent a cease-and-desist letter accusing ByteDance of a "virtual smash-and-grab of Disney's IP" and claiming the Chinese company is "hijacking Disney's characters by reproducing, distributing, and creating derivative works featuring them."

Disney isn't necessarily opposed to working with AI companies—while it has reportedly sent a similar cease-and-desist to Google, it has also signed a three-year licensing deal with OpenAI.

TechCrunch has reached out to ByteDance for comment.