PR in the Philippines

(SeaPRwire) –   Ever since AI-generated content advanced to the point of realistically depicting Will Smith eating a plate of spaghetti, Hollywood has been rushing to find ways to integrate generative AI into media production, including scriptwriting, post-production, and animation. However, attitudes toward AI have long been divided: it was a core sticking point during the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and even a behind-the-scenes photo from Stranger Things Season 5 showing an open ChatGPT tab sparked days of public debate.

Just a handful of months prior, it looked as if AI-generated video content would become the next major trend in film and television, but a recent announcement from OpenAI and Disney signals a very different story.

In December 2025, OpenAI and Disney unveiled a landmark partnership: Disney would invest more than $1 billion into OpenAI, while OpenAI secured the rights to license Disney’s extensive library of characters for Sora, its 2024-launched video generation tool. The plan was for users to create their own content using Disney characters, with select videos even set to be made available for streaming on Disney+. So if you ever wanted to see Olaf the snowman hang out with the Avengers, that dream could have become an AI-generated reality.

But everything shifted abruptly when Sora unexpectedly announced it would permanently shut down the app entirely. This was quickly followed by news that Disney would be pulling out of its existing partnership with OpenAI as well, as there was no longer a Sora platform for Disney’s characters to be used on. This also meant OpenAI would no longer receive the billion-dollar investment from Disney. Per a Reuters report, a meeting regarding the Disney and Sora deal took place on Monday, and just 30 minutes afterward, Disney learned that OpenAI had completely pulled the plug on the app.

This marks a win for critics who have raised concerns about the ethical implications of generative AI. The original Disney partnership was only limited to masked, animated, or non-human creature characters, so no actor’s likeness was involved, but this was not a one-size-fits-all solution. Evidence of this gap can be seen in a recent Disney and Fortnite collaboration, where players manipulated Darth Vader’s AI-generated voice to deliver extremely inappropriate comments.

Disney has been undergoing a period of organizational transition, so the collapse of this partnership could end up being a fortunate turn of events. Longtime Disney CEO Bob Iger finalized the deal late last year, but stepped down from his role just a few weeks later. Per Variety, his successor Josh D’Amaro stated during the 2026 Disney shareholder meeting that “our goal with AI is to empower human creativity and not replace it.” This raises the question: might he or other Disney executives have had reservations about the deal from the start?

While this partnership collapse came seemingly out of the blue, it provides a fresh starting point for both Disney and OpenAI to reevaluate humanity’s relationship with AI and the proper way to integrate it into the entertainment experience.