The partnership will allow more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars to be used by fans in creating short videos through natural language prompts.
The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI have announced a groundbreaking agreement that will make Disney the first major content licensing partner on Sora, OpenAI’s short-form generative video platform.
The partnership will allow more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars to be used by fans in creating short videos through natural language prompts.
Under the three-year licensing deal, a curated selection of Sora-generated videos will also be available to stream on Disney+. Disney and OpenAI will work together to apply AI models to new experiences on the platform, as well as to internal tools, including the deployment of ChatGPT for Disney employees.
Disney will invest one billion dollars in OpenAI and receive warrants to purchase additional equity. Both companies emphasized that the collaboration aims to advance responsible standards for the use of artificial intelligence in entertainment, protecting users and respecting the rights of creators.
Beginning in 2026, fans will be able to generate videos featuring characters such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Lilo and Stitch, Ariel, Simba, Baymax, and characters from Encanto, Frozen, Toy Story, and Zootopia, among many others. Iconic animated or illustrated versions of Marvel and Lucasfilm characters will also be available, including Iron Man, Groot, Loki, Darth Vader, Yoda, and the Mandalorian.
The agreement excludes any use of real-world talent likenesses or voices and includes strict controls to prevent illegal or harmful content. Disney and OpenAI reaffirmed their commitment to developing human-centered AI that enhances creativity and expands what is possible in storytelling.
