AI in Hollywood: Why the Stars Will Still Rule the Next 10 Years

By Nico Grey · Published Oct 21, 2026, 4:58 PM (BKK)

A fake actress with agents circling her. A voice that sounded just like Scarlett Johansson. Tom Hanks young again without a single prosthetic. Hollywood’s AI future isn’t coming. It’s already on set. So here’s the big question everyone in the business is whispering: if a machine can generate a face, a voice and a performance, what happens to the stars? We went through the deals, the lawsuits and the headlines. The facts below are all reported and linked. The predictions are clearly marked as ours.

The “actress” who doesn’t exist

In September 2025, Dutch actor and producer Eline Van der Velden introduced Tilly Norwood at the Zurich Summit: a photo-real AI “actress” made by her London studio Particle6, launched in a 20-second parody video, per Reuters. Van der Velden said talent agents were interested in signing her, Deadline reported. Hollywood erupted.

SAG-AFTRA’s answer was brutal. “Tilly Norwood is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers, without permission or compensation,” the union said, as Variety reported. “It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion.” Van der Velden defended her creation as “a creative work, a piece of art” and called AI “a new paintbrush.”

The union drew a line, in writing

Then came the contract. In June 2026, SAG-AFTRA members ratified a four-year deal with the studios, with 91.4% of voters in favor, Variety reported. The key phrase: producers can use a synthetic performer in a human role only if it brings “significant additional value” compared with a live actor or that actor’s own digital replica, according to SAG-AFTRA’s own FAQ. Studios must give notice and bargain first, and the union can arbitrate for damages.

It builds on the 2023 strike deal, which made consent and payment mandatory for an actor’s digital replica. The new pact also requires an “articulable business reason” to scan a performer and sets minimum pay and residuals for replicas, per The Hollywood Reporter, and bans using a replica to replace an actor during a strike, per TheWrap. Not everyone is convinced: some members warned the studios will face little constraint, Variety noted.

Scarlett Johansson vs. the machine

No star has fought this battle more publicly than Scarlett Johansson. In May 2024, she said she had turned down Sam Altman’s offer to voice ChatGPT, then heard OpenAI’s new “Sky” voice and was “shocked, angered and in disbelief” at how “eerily similar” it sounded, she told NPR. Her lawyers sent letters, and OpenAI paused Sky. Altman said the voice belonged to a different actress cast before any outreach to Johansson, and apologized for not communicating better, per Reuters.

Think about what that moment proved. A tech giant wanted her voice specifically, because her voice already carries trust and warmth. That’s what a star is. AI can imitate the sound. It can’t manufacture the decades of performances that made people care about it.

Young again: the de-aging revolution

Robert Zemeckis’ 2024 film “Here” used Metaphysic’s generative AI to take Tom Hanks and Robin Wright across decades of their characters’ lives, with the director watching the AI-transformed faces live on set, Variety reported. Notice who was still on set, though: Hanks and Wright, performing every beat. The AI changed the age. The acting was all theirs.

The music business made a deal

Music got there first. In October 2025, Universal Music Group settled its copyright case against AI song generator Udio and agreed to build a licensed platform, trained only on authorized music, where artists can opt in and get paid, the company announced. The shift sparked a backlash among Udio users after downloads were switched off, AP reported. The template is clear: AI in, but on the artists’ terms.

The warning nobody can ignore

This week, Runway co-CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela said AI could “absolutely” replace human actors, adding “I think it’s already happening in a way,” at Italy’s View Conference, Variety reported. Nvidia’s Richard Kerris pushed back on the same stage, recalling Marlon Brando improvising with a cat in “The Godfather” as the kind of moment no prompt can produce. And the pain is real lower down the ladder: the Los Angeles Times reports freelance voice actors losing ad and audiobook work to AI voices while big names license lucrative replicas.

Our view: why the stars stay on top for the next 10 years

Everything in this section is our opinion and our prediction, not reporting.

• Fame is a relationship, not a render. Fans follow Zendaya and Margot Robbie through premieres, interviews, breakups and comebacks. You can’t fall for a backstory that doesn’t exist.
• Likeness becomes the most valuable asset in town. With consent and pay now in the contracts, we expect the biggest stars to license their digital doubles and earn while they sleep.
• AI floods the middle; scarcity makes the top shine. When anyone can generate a pretty face, the real, verified, red-carpet human becomes the luxury product.
• The squeeze lands on the anonymous jobs first. Background work, generic voice-overs and stock content face the hardest decade. Personality-driven creators who own their audience are best placed.

What if AI becomes superintelligent?

Our view, and a big “if.” Even a machine that writes a perfect script and renders a flawless performance runs into one wall: people want people. We still watch humans run races cars could win and play chess computers have dominated for decades. If AI makes perfect content limitless, we think the human story behind the art, the risk, the scandal, the comeback, becomes the whole product. The stars won’t disappear. They’ll become the one thing the machines can’t print: real.

FAQ

Can AI legally replace actors in Hollywood?

Under the 2026 SAG-AFTRA contract, producers can use a synthetic performer in a human role only if it brings “significant additional value” compared with a live actor or their digital replica, and only after notice and bargaining with the union, according to SAG-AFTRA.

Who is Tilly Norwood?

An AI-generated “actress” created by Eline Van der Velden’s studio Particle6 and introduced at the Zurich Summit in September 2025. SAG-AFTRA said she “is not an actor” and was trained on performers’ work without permission or compensation.

What happened between Scarlett Johansson and OpenAI?

In May 2024 Johansson said OpenAI’s “Sky” voice sounded “eerily similar” to hers after she declined to voice ChatGPT. OpenAI paused the voice; Sam Altman said it belonged to a different actress, per NPR and Reuters.

What do you think? Would you ever watch a movie starring an AI actor? Tell us on X @celeb124.

Photos: Scarlett Johansson at the Cannes Film Festival (card and story graphic) by Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons). Archive photos, not from the events described.

Sources

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