Disney agrees deal to let TikTokers use its films and TV shows in videos
Disney and TikTok have agreed a deal allowing creators to use clips from Disney's films and TV shows, including franchises such as Star Wars, Toy Story and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in their videos. The scheme, which will launch first in the US before expanding to other countries, aims to make it easier for fans to create content around big releases without facing copyright takedowns, while also boosting engagement across Disney's own platforms. This matters because it reflects the growing importance of fan-made content and online creators to major entertainment brands' marketing strategies.
Videos made under the agreement will also be shared on Disney's short-form platform Verts, which launched in the US in March and is set to expand further. Neither company disclosed financial terms, though the deal follows the collapse of a $1bn agreement between Disney and OpenAI that would have allowed AI-generated videos using Disney characters, cancelled in March after OpenAI shut down its Sora video tool. TikTok said it sees an average of 6.5 million film and TV-related posts daily, and the companies said the new programme would boost creators' visibility and grant access to exclusive events. A recent Oxford Economics report found YouTube creators alone contributed £2.2bn to the UK economy in 2024, supporting 45,000 jobs.
- Disney and TikTok strike deal letting creators use Disney film/TV clips
- Launches in US first, tied to Disney's Verts video platform
- Follows collapse of Disney's $1bn AI-video deal with OpenAI
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Disney is one of the world's biggest entertainment companies, owning franchises such as Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar, while TikTok is a hugely popular short-video app where fans often post clips from films and shows, sometimes running into trouble with copyright rules. The two companies have now struck an agreement that lets creators legally use official Disney footage in their TikTok videos, rather than risk having their posts removed. It builds on Disney's efforts to work more closely with online creators, whose fan-made content increasingly shapes how audiences discover and engage with entertainment brands.
This arrangement is part of a wider shift in how big media companies handle fan content and marketing. Rather than treating unofficial clips purely as a copyright problem, some studios are choosing to formalise and encourage this kind of activity, since it can widen the reach of their films and shows online. Similar tie-ups elsewhere show how much value entertainment firms now place on creator-driven promotion, given how much daily engagement platforms like TikTok generate around film and TV content.
The deal also sits alongside Disney's broader experiments with new media platforms and technology, including its own short-form video service and past discussions with AI companies about using its characters in generated content. Together, these moves reflect the industry's ongoing search for new ways to keep audiences engaged with familiar franchises, while also raising questions about how creative content is controlled, credited and monetised in the digital age.
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The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates of the deal frame it as a sensible modernisation of copyright enforcement that acknowledges how fans actually engage with beloved franchises today. Rather than fighting an unwinnable war against takedown notices for harmless fan edits, Disney can channel that enthusiasm into sanctioned content that drives cultural buzz and box-office interest ahead of major releases. It also offers creators a legitimate, monetisable way to build audiences around content they already love, supporting a creator economy that the Oxford Economics figures show is a genuine economic contributor rather than a niche hobby.
The case against
Sceptics worry that this is less about supporting creators and more about Disney tightening its grip on how its intellectual property circulates, funnelling engagement back towards its own Verts platform and locking participation behind terms it alone sets. There are concerns that such deals could homogenise fan creativity, favouring content that flatters the brand over more critical or subversive fan works, and that creators become unpaid marketing labour for a media conglomerate while receiving comparatively little of the value they generate. Some also see it as a cautious, tightly controlled alternative adopted only after the far more expansive OpenAI arrangement collapsed, suggesting the primary motive is risk management rather than genuine support for fan expression.