The Walt Disney Company has said it “will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are” in the wake of Open AI’s announcement on Tuesday that it is shutting down its generative video app Sora.
The announcement by OpenAI follows a deal struck last December between Disney and the AI company whereby the entertainment giant would invest $1bn in OpenAI under a three-year licencing agreement that allowed users of the Sora app to create videos featuring select IP.
The 200-plus characters made available under the deal included Mickey Mouse, Yoda, Deadpool, and Moana, among many other iconic personalities from the Disney, Marvel Studios, Pixar and Star Wars stables. Disney said at the time that select content would appear on Disney+.
The Sora app uses text prompts to create video content and the deal drew strong reactions from the creative community, who feared iconic brands and artistry would be devalued, and cited more general long-term concerns over copyright infringement involving the intersection of Hollywood and AI.
However the deal is not going ahead after Tuesday’s announcement from OpenAI, which has not yet explained why it is closing down Sora.
A spokesperson for The Walt Disney Company said, “As the nascent AI field advances rapidly, we respect OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere.
”We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it, and we will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators.”
At the time of the deal, recently-departed Disney CEO Bob Iger said, “Bringing together Disney’s iconic stories and characters with OpenAI’s groundbreaking technology puts imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we’ve never seen before, giving them richer and more personal ways to connect with the Disney characters and stories they love.”
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