Disney just wrote a very large check to OpenAI and, in a twist I did not have on my 2026 bingo card, it is going to let fans generate official-ish Disney character images and video with AI. Yes, really. There are guardrails. And, yes, it says a lot about where the company is headed.
What Disney is buying
Disney is taking a $1 billion stake in OpenAI. As part of the deal, Disney will plug OpenAI tech — including ChatGPT and OpenAI’s video tool Sora — into the company’s ecosystem. Internally, the two say they will use AI to build 'new experiences' for fans. Externally, fans will be able to create and share Disney-based content using OpenAI’s tools.
What you can actually make
OpenAI’s Sora and ChatGPT image features will be allowed to generate Disney character imagery and video that you can share. The boundary line is clear: characters are in, real human likenesses are out. So you can whip up Iron Man, not Robert Downey Jr. You can play with Luke Skywalker, not Mark Hamill.
Who is included (so far)
Disney named a big chunk of its crown jewels as fair game, with more to follow:
- Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse
- Lilo, Stitch
- Ariel, Belle, Beast, Cinderella
- Baymax
- Simba, Mufasa
- Black Panther, Captain America, Deadpool, Groot, Iron Man, Loki, Thor, Thanos
- Darth Vader, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Leia, the Mandalorian, Stormtroopers, Yoda
- Characters from Encanto, Frozen, Inside Out, Moana, Monsters Inc., Toy Story, Up, Zootopia
The fine print
Disney is not opening the floodgates to anything-goes fan content. The company will approve what kinds of outputs are allowed on its platforms, and it is explicitly blocking lewd or harmful material — at least through official tools. And again, no actors or their likenesses.
Why Disney says it is doing this
"Technological innovation has continually shaped the evolution of entertainment... The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works. Bringing together Disney's iconic stories and characters with OpenAI's groundbreaking technology puts imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we've never seen before..."
That is Disney CEO Bob Iger’s pitch: more reach, more access, and a promise to respect creators’ rights while letting fans play in the sandbox.
"Disney is the global gold standard for storytelling, and we’re excited to partner to allow Sora and ChatGPT Images to expand the way people create and experience great content... This agreement shows how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to promote innovation that benefits society..."
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, for his part, frames it as a model partnership between tech and entertainment.
The context (and the eyebrow raise)
Here is where it gets interesting. Disney has historically been aggressive about shutting down unauthorized uses of its characters across Disney, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. It is even going after Google’s AI for allegedly generating images of Disney characters without permission, per Deadline. So while this looks like a creative free-for-all, it is also a power move: bring fan creation under Disney’s roof, on Disney’s terms, with Disney’s filters. From where I sit, this seems less about unleashing human creativity and more about consolidating control over how its IP circulates in the AI era.
When this goes live
Disney’s IP is slated to hit OpenAI’s platforms in 2026. Between now and then, expect more specifics on which characters, formats, and use cases make the cut — and where the lines are drawn.