Disney Says It Will 'Thoughtfully and Responsibly Extend' Its Storytelling Through Generative AI Use With $1 Billion OpenAI Deal

Disney has agreed to licence 200 of its astir beloved characters for usage successful Sora's generative AI videos, alongside a $1 cardinal concern successful OpenAI.

The three-year woody volition let users to make short-form videos featuring Disney icons specified arsenic Mickey Mouse, Pixar favorites specified arsenic Woody, Marvel heroes similar Black Panther and Captain America, arsenic good arsenic Star Wars characters similar Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.

Disney and OpenAI's statement includes notation of a "shared committedness to the liable usage of AI that protects idiosyncratic information and the rights of creators," and notably, Disney has said that each of its licensed characters volition beryllium animated, masked oregon creatures, with nary "talent likeness oregon voices." There volition besides beryllium "age-appropriate policies and different tenable controls."

After Sora and ChatGPT some summation the quality to make AI contented based connected Disney characters successful aboriginal 2026, curated selections of this AI-generated contented volition statesman rolling retired via Disney+. There's notation of different "new experiences for Disney+ subscribers" generated by AI too, without immoderate further item — different than that they volition supply "innovative and originative ways to link with Disney’s stories and characters."

The summation of user-generated contented connected Disney+ was antecedently mentioned past period by Disney brag Bob Iger, who dubbed its rollout arsenic the "biggest and the astir important change" to Disney's streaming work since its launch.

"Technological innovation has continually shaped the improvement of entertainment, bringing with it caller ways to make and stock large stories with the world," Iger said successful a connection today. "The accelerated advancement of artificial quality marks an important infinitesimal for our industry, and done this collaboration with OpenAI we volition thoughtfully and responsibly widen the scope of our storytelling done generative AI, portion respecting and protecting creators and their works.

"Bringing unneurotic Disney’s iconic stories and characters with OpenAI’s groundbreaking exertion puts imaginativeness and creativity straight into the hands of Disney fans successful ways we’ve ne'er seen before," Iger continued, "giving them richer and much idiosyncratic ways to link with the Disney characters and stories they love."

Back successful October, the motorboat of OpenAI's Sora 2 saw it flooded with AI versions of Disney characters, arsenic good arsenic Pokémon and different licensed properties — until the level belatedly began clamping down connected copyright-infringing material. Popular videos included examples of popular civilization characters successful X-Wings oregon holding lightsabers — thing it seems we're present astir to spot a batch much of, with Disney's seal of approval.

Licensed characters acceptable to beryllium thrown into the generative AI algorithm see Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Lilo, Stitch, Ariel, Belle, Beast, Cinderella, Baymax, Simba, Mufasa, positive much from Encanto, Frozen, Inside Out, Moana, Monsters Inc., Toy Story, Up, and Zootopia. Marvel and Lucasfilm characters are besides included, specified arsenic Black Panther, Captain America, Deadpool, Groot, Iron Man, Loki, Thor, Thanos, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Leia, the Mandalorian, Stormtroopers and Yoda.

Beyond Disney+, the woody volition spot Disney wide "become a large lawsuit of OpenAI", today's announcement from the 2 companies revealed, with the ChatGPT and Sora maker's capabilties deployed to assistance make "new products, tools, and experiences."

In related news, Disney has contiguous accused Google of infringing its copyright "on a monolithic scale" by utilizing its works to bid its ain generative AI models. In a cease-and-desist missive revealed by Variety, Disney said it believes Google is allowing its ain algorithm to make contented featuring galore of the aforesaid characters it has present licensed to OpenAI, without its permission.

And of course, each of this comes amid the ongoing backdrop of Hollywood's different immense manufacture improvement — the $82.7 cardinal merchantability of Warner Bros. to Netflix (which Paramount is present trying to disrupt with its ain hostile takeover bid). One caller study suggested that Netflix valued Warner Bros. truthful highly due to the fact that it wanted to usage the century-old company's intelligence properties wrong its ain generative AI contented successful future.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social