The Walt Disney Company Exits “OpenAI (Sora)” Deal As AI Bubble Will Finally Pop.

The Walt Disney Company has officially ended its partnership with OpenAI, which would have included bringing AI generated content to Disney+.

Originally inked in December 2025 by former The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger, the deal was supposed to bring over 250 characters across Disney, Pixar, Marvel & Star Wars through AI-generated videos for Disney+ through the new “Verts” option on the service. The deal caused concern across the entertainment industry, especially within SAG-AFTRA, WAG, and The Animation Guild.

Others expressed anger and disappointment, like “The Owl House ” creator Dana Terrace , who urged fans of her Disney show to pirate the series, stating,__“I don’t care, F Generative A.I.”**. “Amphibia ” creator Matt Braly would mention that his indie-animation studio “Fantasy Project ” was created in response to the deal and the looming Warner Bros./Paramount merger.

“The deal is not moving forward” - a Disney spokeperson told DEADLINE when the news broke.

Even though Disney unveiled its $1 billion investment the IPO-inclined OpenAI back in December, it appears no actual money changed hands as the deal was never finalized.

Josh D'Amaro, who became The Walt Disney Company’s newest CEO last week, stated that generative AI won’t be used to replace creatives during his tenure but that technology will be embraced as a tool (animatronics, software programs for movies, VFX, etc…)

‘D’Amaro spoke about the role of human creativity at Disney during his opening speech as CEO last week.

“We’ll continue to develop and embrace new technologies to empower our storytellers — but never at the expense of our characters and worlds, our creative partners, or the trust people place in us, And the quote on the door is from Walt: It takes people to make the dream a reality. This couldn’t be more true for a company like ours, We have the most creative, most passionate, dedicated people — and it’s because of our people that we’ll continue to create stories and experiences that our fans carry with them for a lifetime.” - D'Amaro