Seedance 2.0 Generated Viral Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt Fight Video
Seedance 2.0, a generative video tool by ByteDance, created a viral AI video featuring synthetic likenesses of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting, prompting intellectual property and likeness complaints from Hollywood studios and unions. ByteDance responded by restricting user uploads of real people's images and pledging to strengthen safeguards against unauthorized use of intellectual property and likenesses.
What happened
On February 10, 2026, Irish filmmaker Ruairi Robinson posted a 15-second AI-generated video on X showing synthetic likenesses of actors Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in hand-to-hand combat, created using Seedance 2.0 with a two-line text prompt.
Robinson also created variations of the video showing the AI-generated actors fighting a zombie ninja, teaming up to fight a robot, and discussing Jeffrey Epstein.
ByteDance's Seedance tool is marketed for handling complex motion scenes, and the video demonstrated the capability to generate lifelike versions of real people without their consent.
Reported impact
Hollywood studios, SAG-AFTRA, the Motion Picture Association, and Disney sent legal complaints alleging intellectual property and likeness infringement.
Disney sent a cease and desist letter to ByteDance on February 13. Other videos generated by Seedance showed Star Wars characters, Spider-Man, and Captain America.
Index analysis
The incident highlighted concerns that generative AI video tools could replicate actors' faces and voices without permission, potentially undermining the economic value of actors' likenesses.
Industry observers noted the speed and quality of the generation, with one screenwriter warning that individuals could soon create movies indistinguishable from professional Hollywood output.
Governance controls
ByteDance stated on February 16 that it 'respects intellectual property rights' and is 'taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorized use of intellectual property and likeness by users.'
ByteDance paused the ability for Seedance users to upload images of real people for AI-generated content.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.