This is bold: The Walt Disney Company has struck a three-year licensing agreement with OpenAI, which will allow Sora, the AI video generation tool, to use classic Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters.
Additionally, Disney’s making a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI – with the possibility of more – but for a company that’s been strict and intentional with the use of its characters, this is surprising.
Especially so, as with this agreement, classic characters like Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, as well as those from franchises like Frozen, Toy Story, Moana, Zootopia, and mainstays from the Star Wars and Marvel universes, will be eligible for use as licensed characters within OpenAI and Sora. So while it might seem fitting for Deadpool and Stitch to be thrown into some crazy scenes, for a company that’s been so strict on storytelling and use of characters, it’s a bit of an about-face.
Selections of short-form, Sora-generated videos will even be highlighted in Disney+, likely available to stream alongside classic films made by Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, to name a few. It’s critical to note that this is just for the characters, costumes, props, vehicles, and environments – not for any talent likeness or voice.
As noted in the release, Disney expects its licensed characters to begin appearing in Sora- and ChatGPT-generated content in early 2026. Robert A. Iger, CEO of Disney, is quoted as saying, “The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry…”
It’s a will-they-or-won’t-they moment for Disney, as OpenAI and user-generated AI content have been growing, and we’ve been wondering when this would happen. Iger calls out the rapid development and progress of artificial intelligence and notes that the agreement struck is designed to “responsibly extend the reach of our (Disney’s) storytelling through generative AI.”
Iger also says it “puts imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we’ve never seen before.” Disney’s also been about imagination and creativity, but it’s been real humans pulling the strings behind the curtains – writing the stories and drafting the art. This does mean you could act next to one of your favorite characters, though.
In fact here’s how Disney lists the characters included: “Among the characters fans will be able to use in their creations are Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Lilo, Stitch, Ariel, Belle, Beast, Cinderella, Baymax, Simba, Mufasa, as well as characters from the worlds of Encanto, Frozen, Inside Out, Moana, Monsters Inc., Toy Story, Up, Zootopia, and many more; plus iconic animated or illustrated versions of Marvel and Lucasfilm characters like Black Panther, Captain America, Deadpool, Groot, Iron Man, Loki, Thor, Thanos, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Leia, the Mandalorian, Stormtroopers, Yoda and more.”
Altman decidedly praises Disney as the gold standard for storytelling and says, “This agreement shows how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to promote innovation that benefits society, respect the importance of creativity, and help works reach vast new audiences.”
Many will be watching and wanting to interact, but it also underscores how OpenAI and Disney need to offer some guardrails. To a degree, we’ll need to wait and see what the actual product and tools look like come 2026, and once real folks – like ourselves – can give this a go.
Disney’s also made it very clear whose preverbal side they are on in the AI battle, as The Hollywood Reporter notes that Disney’s hit Google with a cease-and-desist letter citing AI copyright infringement, and that comes right after this deal with OpenAI was made public.
When you wish upon an AI
Now, this is a bold, big step for Disney to be taking. It’s never been a company that shies away from technology, as the Walt Disney Imagineering division has been at the forefront of robotics, haptics, and a leader in earning patents. Interestingly enough, that division is not mentioned in this release, though they’ve been using various AI tools like reinforcement training for its BDX droids, and while it’s not AI, the progress made in audio-animatronics feels as innovative, if not more.
The idea of putting yourself into an iconic environment – maybe Andy’s bedroom or Tatooine – or putting yourself next to Mickey, Stitch, or Deadpool… couldn’t we also have similar experiences in the real world at Disney Parks? There’s always been the quest for more immersion there, and Disney has made some incredible lands – Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland and Disney World, plus Frozen land at Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland. And there it’s real, right?
We have seen Disney dabble more directly with AI with its partnership with Epic Games – earlier in 2025, during the Star Wars season of Fortnite, there was an AI-powered Darth Vader that you could have join your squad and chat with, using James Earl Jones’ likeness/voice, but that went a little off the rails, and the two companies had to course-correct.
Time will tell here, but to quote Mickey from Fantasmic – “Some imagination, huh?” It’s stuck with me not just as a fan of the nighttime spectacular, but for how Mickey has a dream that takes him on a wild adventure with many friendly characters from Disney IP that also turns into a nightmare with many villains.
I’m not quite sure which this Disney x OpenAI partnership will turn out to be. On one hand, it feels very anti-Disney in the sense that it’s letting an AI have all the fun and do the work of being creative off of data it’s been trained on in various ways; it loses the human element, and I imagine Walt Disney and many of the creatives at Disney right now aren’t too happy about that.
Similarly, Sora and ChatGPT Images have been cool to see evolve, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see myself creating some fun scenarios for these characters, but I worry about the guardrails and safety here.
In the end, maybe it comes down to money… or maybe it’s simply the start of a new story none of us know the ending to yet.
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jacob.krol@futurenet.com (Jacob Krol)
