On Thursday, The Walt Disney Company revealed a three-year partnership with OpenAI designed to integrate its beloved characters into OpenAI's Sora AI video generator. As part of this deal, Disney is also committing a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI.

Sora, which launched in September, enables users to produce short videos from simple text prompts. Under the new agreement, creators will gain access to over 200 animated, masked, and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars, along with associated costumes, props, and vehicles. This roster includes iconic figures such as Mickey Mouse, Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Baymax, and Simba, plus characters from franchises like Encanto, Frozen, Inside Out, Moana, Monsters, Inc., Toy Story, Up, and Zootopia.

Additionally, users can incorporate animated or illustrated versions of Marvel and Lucasfilm characters, including Black Panther, Captain America, Deadpool, Groot, Iron Man, Darth Vader, Han Solo, and Stormtroopers. These characters will also be available within ChatGPT Images, the feature that allows visual creation from text prompts. Disney has clarified that the agreement does not cover any talent likenesses or voices.

Disney CEO Bob Iger stated, “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.”

Alongside the partnership, Disney will become a major customer of OpenAI, utilizing its APIs to develop new products, tools, and experiences, including enhancements for Disney+.

Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, commented, “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, respect the importance of creativity, and help works reach vast new audiences.”

It is important to note that Disney has previously taken legal action against the generative AI platform Midjourney for disregarding requests to stop infringing on its intellectual property. The company also issued a cease-and-desist letter to Character.AI, demanding the removal of Disney characters from its platform of AI companions. Disney’s new agreement with OpenAI suggests the company is not entirely opposed to collaborating with AI platforms under the right conditions.