Hollywood's Tilly Norwood Crisis Deepens with the Rise of the 'Tilly-Verse'

The Rise of Tilly Norwood and the Expansion of Xicoia

The AI talent studio behind Tilly Norwood, founded by Particle6 and creator Eline van der Velden, is gearing up for a major expansion of its “Tilly-verse.” This innovative studio is taking bold steps to build what it calls an “Avengers-esque team” of creators, innovators, and “delightful chaos-tamers” to help shape the next chapter of “AI-first entertainment.”

Xicoia is currently seeking nine new hires, each playing a critical role in shaping the future of AI-driven storytelling. Among the positions are roles such as a junior comedy writer, tasked with crafting dialogue and comedic tone across the company’s avatars—including Tilly herself. Additionally, a social media manager is needed to manage Tilly’s growing Instagram following, which has surpassed 66,000 followers.

According to reports, the studio is also looking for a visual storyteller, a “growth guru,” and an “AI wizard-in-chief” who will hold a senior production role. Two AI editors and a “chaos coordinator”—a junior position—are also on the hiring list.

Eline van der Velden, the studio’s founder, shared her vision for Tilly Norwood’s future: “As Tilly Norwood prepares for her next phase of global stardom in 2026, which will see her appear on screen and interact directly with her fans—and as we populate the Tilly-verse with a range of new AI characters—we need to build a skilled and enthusiastic team to take her, her digital colleagues, and the business forward.”

Van der Velden emphasized that while AI is often seen as a threat to jobs, her studio is creating new opportunities. “There’s a lot being said about how AI is taking people’s jobs, but we are creating new jobs—and these nine roles are just the start. We’re growing fast, dreaming big, and looking for people who get excited by the unknown. If you’re curious, ambitious, a little mischievous, and ready to help reinvent storytelling with AI… we want to hear from you.”

Applications for these roles are open to candidates worldwide, as the London-based studio continues to expand its reach. Van der Velden acknowledged the concerns surrounding AI and the entertainment industry, stating, “I totally sympathize with Hollywood being in a really tough spot at the moment, and actors thinking this is coming for their jobs. That’s not what our plan is with Tilly at all.”

She added that there is a lot of “misinformation” surrounding Tilly Norwood and the company’s plans. “We’re not here to replace human talent, but to enhance and evolve the way stories are told.”

Bringing Tilly Norwood “to life” required around 2,000 iterations before the team even began teaching the character to “act.” Van der Velden admitted, “We didn’t think the acting was very good at all” during the initial attempts.

Meanwhile, Sean Astin, president of SAG-AFTRA, has expressed skepticism about labeling synthetic creations like Tilly as “actresses.” He stated, “Avatar and character seem like fair labels. Actress, not so much. She—she? It?—simply will not replace our people.”

Astin described the rise of AI in the entertainment industry as “like a tsunami,” but he stressed the importance of protecting performers’ names, images, and likenesses. “Eline has every right to use open source, publicly available, legal information to build her creative things,” he said. “My issue and our company’s issue is with the companies that design those systems that scrape the internet and ingest them. They’re not allowed to do that.”

He added, “There’s a difference between pushing the envelope and tearing it up. If you push the envelope, you say, ‘Hey, how can human-centered artistry collaborate with this technology to achieve some communication that feels good to an audience?’ And then there’s like, ‘Oh, by the way, we think it’s cheaper, easier, and you know, we don’t want to hire you as an actor.’”