of walt disney company and OpenAI Disney has reached a three-year licensing agreement to become the first major content partner for OpenAI's generation tool, Sora. A.I. video platform.
The deal will enable Sora to generate short, user-directed social videos featuring more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars. A curated selection of these fan-made videos will also be available to stream on Disney+.
The deal also includes a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI from Disney and the right to purchase additional shares, subject to regulatory and corporate approvals.
How Sora leverages Disney IP
As part of the licensing agreement, Sora will draw from a predefined set of animations, masks, and creatures to produce short videos that fans can watch and share. These include costumes, props, rides, and recognizable environments from Disney-owned franchises.
OpenAI said the deal does not include the talent's likeness or voice. The available characters range from major Disney works, as well as Pixar titles, Marvel characters in animated or illustrated form, and Lucasfilm works.
In parallel, ChatGPT Images will also be able to generate images using the same licensed intellectual property, allowing users to create visual content from text prompts in seconds.
OpenAI and Disney have confirmed that Sora-generated content featuring Disney characters is scheduled to begin rolling out in early 2026.
Beyond the license, Disney will be a major customer of OpenAI, using its APIs to build new products, tools, and experiences across its business. This includes work on Disney+ and the internal deployment of ChatGPT for Disney employees.
The two companies will jointly develop new AI-powered experiences for Disney+ subscribers, focusing on creative initiatives rather than producing long-form content. Under the agreement, a select selection of Sora-generated videos will be available for viewing directly on streaming platforms.
Commitment to responsible AI use
Both companies emphasized that the partnership includes common standards for trust, safety, and creator protection. OpenAI confirmed that it will continue to implement age-appropriate policies and safeguards across Sora and related services.
Disney and OpenAI also said they will maintain controls to prevent illegal or harmful content, respect the rights of content owners, and allow individuals to appropriately manage the use of their voices and likenesses.
“Technological innovation continues to shape the evolution of entertainment, giving us new ways to create and share great stories with the world,” said Robert A. Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “The rapid advances in artificial intelligence are at an important time for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI, we will thoughtfully and responsibly expand the scope of storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their work.”
“By bringing together Disney's iconic stories and characters with OpenAI's breakthrough technology, we are putting imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways never seen before, giving them a richer, more personal way to connect with the Disney characters and stories they love.”
“Disney is the global gold standard in storytelling, and Sora and ChatGPT Images are partnering to expand the ways people create and experience great content,” said Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI. “We're excited about what we can do. This agreement demonstrates how AI companies and creative leaders can responsibly collaborate to foster innovation that benefits society, honors the importance of creativity, and enables work to reach vast new audiences.”
The deal positions Disney as one of the highest-profile media companies to officially license intellectual property for large-scale generative AI video creation. This is also one of OpenAI's largest commercial partnerships tied directly to entertainment IP.
While the partnership opens up new forms of fan-generated content, the companies stress that the deal is structured around the creation of short-form works, rather than a full production workflow. The focus continues to be on controlled access, clear licensing boundaries, and defined use cases rather than unlimited content generation.
If successful, this partnership could influence how other major rights holders approach licensing, platform distribution, and AI-generated creative tools for years to come.
