The Walt Disney Company on Dec. 11 announced plans to invest $1 billion in OpenAI as part of a three-year licensing agreement.
Disney will collaborate with OpenAI to stream “curated selections” of AI-generated videos on Disney+ starting in early 2026.
The media enterprise, founded in 1923, will create these videos using OpenAI’s artificial intelligence (AI) video generator, Sora.
Fans will also be able to create their own AI-generated short films featuring more than 200 popular characters, including Luke Skywalker and Iron Man.
“The agreement does not include any talent likenesses or voices,” a press release by Disney stated on Thursday.
AI-generated videos have been a hot-button issue in the entertainment industry, with creators expressing fears that AI will take away their jobs. Those concerns even prompted historic strikes in 2023 by actors in the SAG-AFTRA union and the Writers Guild of America….