This week The Walt Disney Companyannounced it’s making a roughly $1 billion investment in OpenAI and signing a three-year character licensing deal that lets OpenAI’s Sora video generation tool use more than 200 beloved characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars.
That’s a radical departure from the usual news from Disney. Suddenly, your text prompt could summon Mickey Mouse, Iron Man or Darth Vader into clips to share with friends or on social feeds. And yes, Disney+ might even curate some of those fan-made masterpieces on its platform in early 2026.
There’s a lot wrapped up in this moment. On one hand, the nostalgia is huge especially for anyone who grew up watching The Lion Kingon VHS in the 90s or had Star Wars marathons before The Phantom Menace hit theaters. Characters you’ve loved for decades can suddenly (and legally) be part of your own creations.
But there’s also caution in the language Disney and OpenAI are using. This isn’t an open free-for-all. The licensing agreement explicitly excludes actor likenesses and voices, which means you won’t get AI-generated clips that sound exactly like the original cast. It’s a nod to the ongoing industry concern about protecting creators and performers even as technology rapidly advances.
Related: A 1993 Contract Could Rewrite 'Star Wars' History — and Disney’s Not Happy
Reddit threads have been interesting (to say the least). Some fans are thrilled about the creative possibilities, while others are bracing for what they see as “AI chaos” with their favorite heroes and villains. People crack jokes, others express real nostalgia for the characters themselves rather than the tech behind them.
How Will People Use Classic Disney Characters?
There’s a larger cultural issue here too. Generative AI tools like Sora have wowed people with how quickly they can turn a few words into moving images. But that same power has sparked debates about misinformation, deepfakes and what it means to use these cultural (and business) icons responsibly. Disney doesn’t ignore that. Partnerships like this, and the guardrails around them, are now part of how fans engage with characters old and new.
So, if you’ve ever dreamed of directing your own short, authorized video of Buzz Lightyear dancing the can-can with a line of Imperial Stormtroopers, that future just got a little bit closer. Although it's definitely strange to imagine these timeless characters entering the public creative space where almost anything can happen.
And if you’re already thinking up how you’re going to populate your Star Wars cantina scene with Marvel and Pixar characters, well, me too.
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