Disney is taking its most public leap yet into generative AI, cutting a deal with OpenAI to open up its beloved characters to user-generated AI videos. Under the three-year agreement, Disney will allow OpenAI's Sora tool to generate short-form videos featuring Disney-owned characters, with clips to be available for streaming on Disney+, per the New York Times. The deal makes Disney the first major Hollywood studio to formally tie its core intellectual property to a leading generative video platform. The company will also invest $1 billion in OpenAI, with plans to use ChatGPT internally to develop new tools and products for employees.
Chief executive Robert Iger framed the move as a controlled embrace of fast-moving technology, saying the rise of AI represents a pivotal moment for the entertainment industry. Disney intends to expand its storytelling "thoughtfully and responsibly" through the partnership, he said. The CBC reports Sora and ChatGPT Images will be able to generate requested videos using Disney characters, including those from Star Wars, Pixar, and Marvel franchises, early next year.
The move comes as studios and creators wrestle with how AI systems use copyrighted content and what that means for compensation and artistic control. Disney and Universal are already suing image generator Midjourney, accusing it of enabling users to create images that improperly draw on studio-owned characters; Midjourney argues its practices are protected as fair use. In a nod to those ongoing fights, Disney's OpenAI pact specifically excludes the use of performers' likenesses or voices, a sensitive issue for Hollywood unions and talent who have sought guardrails around AI.
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