For a century, Disney has been the studio that guards its characters like crown jewels — now it’s inviting an AI company to play with the treasure chest.
A US$1 billion (AUD$1.5 billion) deal with OpenAI doesn’t just mean more Mickey and Moana content floating around the internet; it quietly asks a bigger question about who controls the future of storytelling when the world’s most powerful IP is being fed into generative tools that unions say already rely on unpaid creative labour.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Disney+ and Open AI deal.
So, what is this deal?
Disney is investing US$1 billion (AUD$1.5 billion) in OpenAI and becoming its first major content‑licensing partner on Sora, OpenAI’s short‑form video generator. Starting from early 2026, users will be able to type a prompt and get short “fan‑inspired” clips featuring more than 200 characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars, alongside familiar costumes, props, vehicles and locations.
A curated selection of these Sora videos will also be available to watch on Disney+, and the same character library will be usable in ChatGPT Images for stills. On top of that, Disney plans to use OpenAI’s models internally: building new tools and products for Disney+, and rolling out ChatGPT to staff as part of its production and workflow stack.
How are Disney and OpenAI framing it?
Disney CEO Bob Iger is presenting the agreement as the next phase in the long marriage between technology and entertainment. He has called the rapid growth of AI “an important moment for our industry” and says the partnership will “thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works”.
OpenAI, for its part, is treating this as a showcase for Hollywood: Sam Altman has described the deal as an example of AI companies and creative leaders working together “responsibly” to drive innovation, respect creativity and bring works to new audiences. In simple terms, the pitch is: fans get new toys, Disney gets new formats and data, OpenAI gets a big cheque and a prestige partner.
Why are unions and creatives worried?
For unions, this is less “fun experiment” and more “giant line in the sand”. Duncan Crabtree‑Ireland from SAG‑AFTRA has said there is “real concern” among creative workers about the implications of the deal and that “nobody wants to see human creativity given away to AI models”, even though Disney and OpenAI have both told the union the agreement excludes performers’ images, likenesses and voices.
SAG‑AFTRA’s formal statement says it will closely monitor how the partnership is implemented to make sure it complies with contracts and with laws protecting image, voice and likeness, and stresses that members are “very focused” on the fast‑expanding use of people’s identities and IP by generative tools. The union also backs Disney’s cease‑and‑desist letter to Google over alleged “mass” copyright infringement, arguing that AI platforms’ current guardrails are not strong enough and must be tightened to stop abuse of performers’ work.
The Writers Guild of America has been even more direct about what this moment represents. In its statement, the guild notes that Disney has made a three‑year deal to license “hundreds” of company‑owned characters to Sora, and that some of the user‑generated videos will run on Disney+. It also points out that Disney is simultaneously making “a significant investment” in OpenAI and developing extra AI tools for internal and consumer use.
Crucially, the WGA argues that companies including OpenAI have “stolen vast libraries of works owned by the studios and created by WGA members and Hollywood labor” to train their models, and says the Disney deal “appears to sanction its theft of our work and cedes the value of what we create to a tech company that has built its business off our backs”.
The guild says it will meet with Disney to probe how these user‑generated clips might draw on writers’ work and to defend members’ creative and economic interests as AI tools are rolled deeper into studio pipelines.
Has Disney had AI dramas before?
Yes – and not just on the “cute robot” side of things. Disney has already sent legal threats to AI firms it says are freeloading off its catalogue, including a cease‑and‑desist to Google accusing the company of infringing its copyrights “on a massive scale”. It has also pursued cases over AI image generators using Disney‑style visuals and characters without permission, while lobbying hard over copyright rules more broadly.
The wider industry has been here too: when OpenAI’s video tools first rolled out, users quickly pushed them into messy territory with clips featuring copyrighted characters and offensive imagery, and public outcry over deepfake content prompted OpenAI to pause Sora’s ability to generate videos of figures like Martin Luther King Jr.
Scarlett Johansson – part of the Disney family via Marvel – previously forced OpenAI to pull a ChatGPT voice that she said sounded eerily like her after she’d declined an approach to officially voice the product, and she has called for stronger laws around synthetic voice and likeness use.
What does it mean for everyday workers?
For people who actually make film and TV for a living, the fear is less about one Mickey Mouse birthday clip and more about what happens if this model becomes standard. If studios can license huge chunks of their libraries to AI companies, use those tools in‑house, and push fan‑made content to platforms like Disney+, that raises questions about everything from marketing work and short‑form production to how ideas are developed and whose labour is needed.
Unions like the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) in Australia have already warned that AI could hollow out creative jobs, pay and conditions unless governments step in with clear rules and bargaining power for workers. They are pushing for AI‑specific laws and stronger protections around scans, data, and consent, arguing that the material being fed into these products comes from human professionals and that their rights need to be front and centre as deals like Disney–OpenAI become more common.
So, is this the future of Hollywood?
This deal doesn’t instantly replace actors, writers or animators, and it does draw a line around talent likenesses and voices – at least for now. But it is a big symbolic step: a major studio taking technology that’s already been accused of copyright theft and deepfake abuse and folding it into the heart of its business, from Disney+ content to internal tools.
Fans get new ways to play with beloved characters; OpenAI and Disney get more data, power and leverage; and the people whose work built those worlds are left trying to make sure they’re not written out of the next version.
Whether this becomes a fun side‑quest for the industry or the start of a much bigger shift will depend on what happens next: the contracts, the laws and how loudly workers keep pushing back.
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