Seedance 2.0: RGV Declares ByteDance AI Video Tool ‘Murderer’ of Film Industry Leading to ‘Liberation’ and ‘Ultimate Democratisation’ (See Post)

Veteran filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma aka RGV has sparked a significant discussion across the Indian film fraternity and beyond, issuing a provocative critique of Seedance 2.0, an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) filmmaking tool by Chinese tech giant ByteDance. In a series of posts on February 25, 2026, Varma dramatically characterised Seedance 2.0 as the "murderer of the film industry". In a post titled, SEEDANCE 2.0 , the MURDERER of FILM INDUSTRY, the Shiva filmmaker simultaneously hailed AI as a powerful instrument for the "liberation" and "ultimate democratisation" of cinema. His remarks come ahead of the Seedance 2:0 release, which has been delayed a bit. Seedance 2.0 Release Date: Official Website, Delay Reasons and How To Get Access.

RGV's comments underscore a growing industry apprehension and excitement regarding AI's transformative potential. The filmmaker had earlier made similar remarks AI in the education system. Here's what he said in his detailed tweet about AI filmmaking and how it will kill the "dinosaurs" in the cinema business. 'Hey Students, Celebrate the Death of Education ': Ram Gopal Varma Reflects on AI and How It Will Make Current Education System Obsolete (View Post).

Dual Nature of AI: Destruction and Empowerment

RGV's strong stance on Seedance 2.0 stems from his belief that the AI tool possesses the capacity to fundamentally disrupt the established, elite-driven structure of filmmaking. He argued that while a select few, like acclaimed Telugu director SS Rajamouli, command massive budgets and industry backing due to their proven track records, countless equally talented individuals in smaller towns and diverse backgrounds are denied such opportunities. "People who have creative vision, but who will never get access to neither the film industry nor funds to put their vision on screen. The opportunity gate is locked for them and the keys are only with a few chosen ones," Varma wrote on X.

Ram Gopal Varma's Explosive Tweet About Seedance 2.0 - See Post:

Democratising the Creative Process

According to Varma, Seedance 2.0 "kicked the gate down and set it on fire," offering a pathway for true democratisation in filmmaking. He elaborated that the AI platform enables anyone with a creative imagination to generate cinematic, multi-shot sequences complete with sound design and high-end visuals that appear to cost hundreds of crores to produce, all from simple descriptive prompts. This capability, he suggests, shifts power away from industry gatekeepers and into the hands of individual creators, allowing a "creative guy in Gorakhpur or Coimbatore or Satara" to bring their vision to life without needing to relocate to major film hubs or secure vast funding.

Paradigm Shift in Production and Workforce

Varma further predicted an inevitable collapse of the current filmmaking ecosystem. He posited that advanced AI tools like Seedance 2.0 could eliminate the need for large sections of the industry's workforce, including actors, technicians, production crews, and VFX teams. His vision suggests a future where "no more star issues. No more producers panicking over budgets. No more 300 people standing around waiting for one shot. Just one person, one prompt, one mind" could be sufficient to create film-quality outputs. This radical shift, he believes, would brutally murder the "arrogance" of the traditional film industry, paving the way for a new era where only talent truly matters.

What Is Seedance 2.0?

Seedance 2.0, developed by ByteDance, is an advanced AI video and image generation platform. It allows users to create and edit viral multi-shot videos by transforming text prompts, images, video clips, and audio inputs into high-resolution, cinematic visuals. The platform boasts features like superior structure control, enabling precise spatial relationships and scene composition, and offers various AI models for diverse artistic expressions.

The Unanswered Question About AI

Concluding his impassioned commentary, Ram Gopal Varma posed a pivotal question that resonates with the ongoing global debate surrounding AI's role in creative industries: "So is it THE DEATH OF THE FILM INDUSTRY ? or is it THE ULTIMATE DEMOCRATISATION OF THE FILM INDUSTRY?"

His remarks have undoubtedly intensified discussions on whether artificial intelligence will ultimately disrupt or redefine the future of cinematic storytelling, leaving the industry to grapple with the profound implications of this rapidly evolving technology.

Here is the full text of Ram Gopal Varma's tweet on AI and filmmaking:

"SEEDANCE 2.0 , the MURDERER of FILM INDUSTRY

Leaving aside its copyright infringements etc which is another matter , here’s my take on Seedance 2.0

@ssrajsmouli is the no. 1 director because he makes the most expensive films and the most successful ..People fund him a 1000 crores or more because of his track record and all that again is due to his unsurpassed creative imagination ..But now In a country of some 120 crore people, who knows how many more Rajamoulis or even better than him are there in small towns, villages, engineering colleges, and government jobs right now?

People who have creative vision , but who will never get access to neither the film industry nor funds to put their vision on screen ..The opportunity gate is locked for them and the keys are only with a few chosen ones

Now Seedance 2.0 just kicked that gate down and set it on fire.

This can take just their descriptive prompts and create a cinematic, multi shot, sound designed, devastatingly impactful scenes that look like they cost 100s of crores and took months or years to make.

Suddenly, a creative guy in Gorakhpur or Coimbatore or Satara or wherever, doing a mundane job to feed his family , who can’t even afford to come to Mumbai can just write a scene and the likes of Seedance makes it for him and that is true democracy in motion

Real democracy is taking the tools out of the hands of the elite and putting them in the hands of the people. Seedance just did that to cinema.

Back then , Nagarjuna had maybe some 10 guys to choose from , when he picked me for Shiva.

Today, thanks to the likes of Seedance 2.0, he will have a thousand or more options , out of which 990 could be better than me

A director’s “primary job” is to take a scene on paper and transfer it onto screen using actors, cameramen, editors, production designers, VFX studios, action directors, dancers, musicians, location managers, light boys, spot boys etc and now advanced versions of the likes of Seedance 2.0 will eliminate that entire ecosystem.

No more star issues

No more producers panicking over budgets.

No more “we’ll fix it in post.”

No more 300 people standing around waiting for one shot.

Just one person.

One prompt.

One mind.

The moment advanced versions of A I can generate full length films at theatrical quality, the film industry as we know it with its unions, its crores of “overheads,” its “only we know how to make films” arrogance will die

Not slowly.

Not peacefully.

It will get murdered brutally

But at the heart of it , this is actually the liberation of cinema.

The dinosaurs had their 100 year reign.

Now the asteroid has arrived.

And its name is A I

Welcome to the new era.

Where only talent matters more than access.

Where the murderer is also the saviour.

And there will be no going back ever

So is it THE DEATH OF THE FILM INDUSTRY ? or is it THE ULTIMATE DEMOCRATISATION OF THE FILM INDUSTRY?"

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 25, 2026 06:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).