Our client, The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI have reached an agreement for Disney to become the first major content licensing partner on Sora, OpenAI’s generative short-form video platform.
OpenAI is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) research and development company known for its models such as ChatGPT (for text), DALL-E (for images), and Sora (for video), which are used to automate tasks, generate content, and power innovative applications.
As part of this new three-year licensing agreement, Sora will be able to generate short videos on social media on demand that can be viewed and shared by fans, based on a set of more than 200 animated characters and creatures from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, including iconic costumes, vehicles and environments. In addition, ChatGPT Images will be able to convert a few words from the user into fully generated images in seconds, extracting from the same intellectual property.
Along with the licensing agreement, Disney will become a major customer of OpenAI, using its programming interfaces to create new products, tools, and experiences, including for Disney+, and deploying ChatGPT for its employees. Additionally, Disney will make a $1 trillion equity investment in OpenAI and receive additional share purchase rights.
The CEO of The Walt Disney Company, Robert A. Iger, said, “The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly expand the reach of our storytelling using generative AI, respecting and protecting creators and their works. Bringing together iconic Disney stories and characters with OpenAI’s revolutionary technology puts imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we’ve never seen before, giving them more enriching and personal ways to connect with the Disney characters and stories they love.”
Sam Altman, Co-Founder and CEO of OpenAI said: “Disney is the global standard in storytelling, and we are excited to collaborate to enable Sora and ChatGPT Images to expand the way people create and experience quality content. This agreement demonstrates how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to promote innovation that benefits society, respects the importance of creativity, and helps works reach new audiences.”
Sora and ChatGPT Images are expected to begin generating videos featuring Disney’s licensed characters in early 2026.
Among the characters that fans will be able to use in their creations are Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Lilo, Stitch, Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Baymax, Simba, Mufasa, as well as characters from the worlds of Encanto, Frozen, Moana, Monsters Inc., Toy Story, Up, Zootopia and many more; as well as iconic animated or illustrated versions of Marvel and Lucasfilm characters such as Black Panther, Captain America, Deadpool, Groot, Iron Man, Loki, Thor, Thanos, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Leia, the Mandalorian, Stormtroopers, Yoda and more.
OpenAI will implement responsible measures to further address trust and safety, including age-appropriate policies and other reasonable controls. In addition, OpenAI and Disney have committed to maintaining rigorous controls to prevent the generation of illegal or harmful content, respect the rights of content owners in relation to the results of the models, and respect the right of individuals to properly control the use of their voice and image.
With this groundbreaking agreement, Disney and OpenAI affirm a shared commitment to the responsible use of artificial intelligence that protects the safety of users and the rights of creators.
