The Vault is Open: You'll Soon Be Able to Make AI Videos with Disney Characters

Generative AI is the talk of Hollywood because it's been stealing IP left and right. But what would happen if a studio just gave it all away?

Well, Disney is about to find out.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated during an earnings call that the service is "rolling out the biggest and the most significant changes—from a product perspective, from a technology perspective—since we launched the service in 2019."

Maybe the biggest of these changes is that Disney+ subscribers may soon be able to create and share their own short-form AI videos featuring some of the world's most recognizable and valuable characters from the Disney catalog.

Let's dive in.

Our Fan Fiction Future

This pathway for Disney is pretty interesting. While it is sure to come with some guardrails, they're basically handing IP over to users and allowing them to make their own short-form videos of characters in their massive catalog.

In the call, Iger was clear about the goal: a "much more engaged experience" for users. The ability to create AI-powered UGC is seen as the primary driver for this engagement.

"The other thing that we're really excited about, that AI is going to give us the ability to do, is to provide users of Disney+ with a much more engaged experience, including the ability for them to create user-generated content and to consume user generated content—mostly short-form—from others," Iger said.

This is a massive pivot for the company, which has been so protective of its IP and all of its characters.

It's also them engaging in what seems like a passive service, relying on viewers to generate content and entertain themselves, at a price.

The IP Paradox: Control vs. Creation

The tension in this announcement is palpable. For years, the company has fought against copyright infringement, even going so far as to sue platforms like Midjourney over the unauthorized use of its characters in AI model training.

But these active partnerships don't feel like they're protecting creators, but finding a new bottom line for themselves.

Iger noted that the company has had "productive conversations" with unnamed AI developers and that any partnership would need to "reflect our need to protect the IP."

However, none of this protects the human beings who created the characters and worlds whose jobs may be at risk because Disney would rather have people generate their own stories, or at least test that idea, rather than paying someone to do so for a mass audience.

It sounds fun to dig into a fan-driven digital economy centered around iconic franchises like Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar.

But as a writer, I keep thinking that the reason people engaged with this stuff was because of the stories told to them. And taking away those jobs of storytellers kind of cheapens these characters in the long run.

What's Next for the Streaming Wars?

Disney’s move isn't just about fun fan videos; it's a strategic response to the shifting digital landscape. User attention is increasingly dominated by short-form, personalized, and interactive content found on platforms like TikTok and YouTube.

Disney is now competing with those platforms by letting users stay on their site to generate their own videos that entertain themselves.

As they position themselves as a holistic entertainment destination, rather than just a vault of films and shows, we have to see where the financial cuts are made to afford these new ventures on the platform. And we'll need to figure out how the people who came up with the characters and worlds used are compensated.

And we'll have to see which other studios follow suit.

Summing It All Up

While details remain sparse on the exact technology and timeline, this announcement signals a future where the lines between content consumers and creators—even within the most tightly controlled entertainment empires—are rapidly blurring.

We'll cover this more as the tech and actual usage develop.

Let me know what you think in the comments.