AI 'Actress' Tilly Norwood Gets Her Own Tillyverse as Hollywood Unions Renegotiate Contracts

The AI 'Actress' Tilly Norwood Is Getting a Whole 'Tillyverse'

You might remember Tilly Norwood, a completely AI-generated "actress" character that was unveiled last summer to significant industry backlash. Well, get ready for more. Xicoia, an AI talent studio founded by the British production company behind Tilly, just announced that it's preparing to unveil a whole "Tillyverse" later this year. The plan is to build an entire digital universe to house Tilly Norwood's "compelling narrative arc," which will include everything from "her humour, daily life and career choices to how she interacts with fans across various platforms," CEO Eline Van der Velden said in a press release. The company is also working on unveiling a bunch of new AI characters to accompany her. Xicoia is bringing in Mark Whelan from Amazon Prime Video to lead the charge, calling it the company's first major hire. At Prime, Whelan led social strategy for some European shows like Clarkson's Farm and The Grand Tour, according to Deadline. At Xicoia, Whelan will also oversee "the creation of bespoke AI talent commissioned by third parties," the company said, "positioning Xicoia at the forefront of the rapidly emerging AI entertainment economy." "A few short months after Tilly was revealed to the world, this appointment now signals a period of rapid acceleration. Xicoia isn’t just experimenting with AI talent â€" it’s building IP at scale and redefining how talent is created, developed and experienced in the AI era," the company said in the press release. Tilly drew ire from all corners of the industry when "she" debuted last summer and creator Eline Van der Velden said she was talking to talent agencies that wanted to sign Tilly. So far, the AI character is still not signed to any talent agency, but Van der Velden told Deadline in November that "there are lots of agencies that are interested." The actors union SAG-AFTRA released a statement at the time saying that Tilly Norwood was just "a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performersâ€"without permission or compensation." Early last month, the union began renegotiating its contract, and as of Monday, at least, are still deep in negotiations, according to union president Sean Astin. The current contract is set to expire by June 30, and it was signed following the historic Hollywood strikes of 2023. One of the key issues of disagreement that led to the 2023 strike was the use of AI in film. According to reports, AI is yet again a major topic of discussion this time around. The AI industry has made huge leaps in video and image generation since 2023, from viral product launches by Google's Nano Banana Pro, ByteDance's Seedance 2.0, and OpenAI's Sora to a completely AI-generated short movie that almost got a national theatrical run by AMC this month, until the chain backed away following criticism. It will be interesting to see whether the AI developments and the expansion of the "Tillyverse" will factor into the union contract renegotiations, not just for SAG-AFTRA but across Hollywood, as both the Writers Guild of America and the Directors Guild also gear up to renegotiate contracts in the next couple of months.

AI screen nightmares: What is the controversial 'Tillyverse'?

Welcome to the "Tillyverse" -- the digital world of controversial AI "actress" Tilly Norwood. Its creator says it will allow AI characters to collaborate and build artificial acting careers. How nervous (and depressed) should we be? The digital world of the first AI "actress" is about to get bigger... Tilly Norwood, the controversial creation of London-based AI talent studio Xicoia, will soon be a part of a digital universe dubbed the "Tillyverse". For those who need a quick refresher on the hellscape unfolding, Norwood is a 100 per cent AI "actress" that was launched last year. Looking like the unholy fusion of Ana de Armas and Lily Collins, it was brought to life by Dutch actress and tech creator Eline Van der Velden. Her AI studio Xicoia - a spin-off from Van der Velden's AI production studio Particle6 - is aiming to push digital "talent" into film and television. "We want Tilly to be the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman, that's the aim of what we're doing," Van der Velden told Broadcast International last July - when she soft-launched her creepy creation on various social media accounts. Upon Norwood's introduction and Van der Velden stating that she was seeking to secure professional representation (something traditionally reserved for real-life talent), many Hollywood actors, including Emily Blunt, Toni Colette and Natasha Lyonne, spoke out against the soulless bot. Hollywood's actors union SAG-AFTRA also responded to the news that talent agents were looking to sign Norwood, saying: "SAG-AFTRA believes creativity is, and should remain, human-centered. The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics." The guild added: "To be clear, '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. It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we've seen, audiences aren't interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience." There. All caught up on the digital chicanery. The newly announced "Tillyverse" is where "Tilly and a new generation of AI characters will live, collaborate and build careers." This "rapid expansion" is part of a plan to build intellectual property and change "how talent is created, developed and experienced in the AI era." "Tilly Norwood isn't just an AI character - she's a personality, a brand, and a future global superstar with a compelling narrative arc," Van der Velden said in a new press release. To make matters more delusional - sorry, alarming - Xicoia recently hired former Amazon Prime Video executive Mark Whelan to lead Norwood's expansion, develop new AI characters and oversee the creation of AI talent commissioned by third parties. "Mark will help us craft and shape every layer of her world, from her humour, daily life and career choices to how she interacts with fans across various platforms. It all promises to be bold, playful, a little chaotic - and impossible to ignore," added Van der Velden. "Becoming a lead architect of the Tillyverse is genuinely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Whelan said in a press release. "AI is evolving at breathtaking speed, and combining cutting-edge tech with ambitious creative thinking means we're not following an industry playbook at Xicoia - we are writing it." The company expects to launch the "Tillyverse" this year - an initiative which continues to deepen anxieties regarding the expansion of AI in the arts, with many fearing that the technology will be (mis)used to replace jobs. Van der Velden has previously tried to de-escalate the backlash saying that she saw Tilly Norwood not as "a replacement for a human being, but a creative work - a piece of art." However, and especially following the concerns about the misuse of AI at the heart of 2023 Hollywood SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild strikes, there are still those who feel like the expansion of this digital creation is less artwork and more a reductive way of considering both the work of real human performers and the appetites of audiences. "Audiences? They care about the story - not whether the star has a pulse," Van der Velden previously commented in a LinkedIn post, adding: "The age of synthetic actors isn't 'coming' - it's here." Judging by Norwood's relentlessly rubbish performance in the skit AI Commissioner (see below), that last part is debatable. Still, Norwood and her "Tillyverse" remains a threat that needs to be taken seriously - especially in a digital world flooded by deepfakes and aggressively pointless AI slop, as well as a real-life world in which the Hollywood establishment will do just about anything to cut costs and shove whatever they deem marketable in audiences' eyeballs for the sake of profit. Just think: an ageless and compliant "actress" - based on the stolen looks and performances of young women who are trying to make a career out of their real-life talent - willing to bend to any producer wish with no salary demands? You can bet there are producers out there who are more than willing to consider the bankability and deference of such an identity thief. Thankfully, the pushback continues, and there are - for now - certain safeguards in place. Earlier this year, SAG-AFTRA reentered contract negotiations with major studios, with the possible proposal of the "Tilly tax" - a fee that studios would have to pay to the union in exchange for using an AI "actor". And with any luck, audiences will continue to care about human artistry. In addition to a pulse.

Tilly Norwood, the fully A.I. 'actor,' to be part of rapidly expanding 'Tillyverse'

Welcome to the "Tillyverse" -- the digital world of controversial AI "actor" Tilly Norwood that its creator says will allow AI characters to collaborate and build artificial acting careers. The CEO of Particle6, Eline van der Velden, announced the "rapid expansion" of Tilly Norwood and its universe on Monday in a press release. Van der Velden has also recruited Amazon Executive Mark Whelan from Prime Video as Head of Strategy and Operations for the AI talent studio Xicoia, which is part of Particle6. Whelan, Van der Velden said, will help the studio develop Norwood into "a future global superstar." "Mark will help us craft and shape every layer of her world, from her humour, daily life and career choices to how she interacts with fans across various platforms," Van der Velden said in the press release. The Tillyverse, "a dynamic, constantly evolving digital universe where Tilly and a new generation of AI characters will live" is set to launch later this year, the press release said. The AI actor has come under fire from Hollywood, including by actors union SAG-AFTRA, who blasted the studio for "using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry." The union emphasized that Norwood is "not an actor," rather "it's a character generated by a computer program." Whelan's appointment is not the first time the AI studio has partnered with traditional media. The production company Particle6 collaborated with the History Channel in the Netherlands to produce an AI-created time travel series, featuring Dutch author and media personality Corjan Mol going back in time to explore the Netherlands "with the help of AI." The Press Release from Xicoia says that Whelan's hiring and the expansion of the Tillyverse "signals a period of rapid acceleration." "Xicoia isn't just experimenting with AI talent -- it's building IP at scale and redefining how talent is created, developed and experienced in the AI era," the press release said. Whelan was previously a comedy producer and led social expansion for Amazon Prime Video. "Tilly already has the momentum, an audience and the cultural spark," Whelan said in the press release regarding his new role. "Now we're writing her story and building her universe."

Tilly Norwood AI Studio Hires Former Amazon Exec in "Rapid Expansion" and Sets Launch of Multi-Character "Tillyverse"

BRIT Awards 2026: Olivia Dean Rules the Night With Artist and Album of the Year Wins Xicoia, the world's first AI talent studio and creator of AI performer Tilly Norwood, has hired former Amazon Prime Video Mark Whelan as head of strategy and operations. Whelan will work directly with CEO and creative lead founder Eline van der Velden of Particle6 -- who talked in depth with The Hollywood Reporter about her plans for Hollywood domination last year -- to "scale the studio's ambitious vision," said the studio, "beginning with the rapid expansion of AI actor Tilly Norwood and the launch of the Tillyverse, a dynamic, constantly evolving digital universe where Tilly and a new generation of AI characters will live, collaborate and build careers." The Tillyverse, they added, is set to launch later this year. Whelan joins from Amazon, where he led its social expansion across numerous territories and spent six years shaping EU-wide social strategy for major brands including The Grand Tour and Clarkson's Farm. Van der Velden said: "Mark is a brilliant storyteller with a rare skillset, and I couldn't be more excited to have him join Xicoia. He understands comedy, character-building, AI, audience behaviour and digital culture, which is exactly what Tilly -- and the wider business -- needs at this stage. "Together, we're building something entirely new. Tilly Norwood isn't just an AI character -- she's a personality, a brand, and a future global superstar with a compelling narrative arc," van der Velden added. "Mark will help us craft and shape every layer of her world, from her humour, daily life and career choices to how she interacts with fans across various platforms. It all promises to be bold, playful, a little chaotic -- and impossible to ignore." Mark Whelan added that the role is a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." "AI is evolving at breathtaking speed, and combining cutting-edge tech with ambitious creative thinking means we're not following an industry playbook at Xicoia, we are writing it," he said. "Tilly already has the momentum, an audience and the cultural spark. Now we're writing her story and building her universe. It's a huge responsibility, but an incredibly exciting one. I think the world is going to have a lot of fun watching what happens next." Alongside spearheading Tilly Norwood's growth, Whelan will lead the team in the development of new proprietary AI characters for use by Xicoia and Particle6, as well as oversee the creation of bespoke AI talent commissioned by third parties.