Disney and TikTok have announced a major short-form video partnership that will allow selected creators to produce content using approved characters, scenes and story elements from Disney’s extensive entertainment catalogue.

The first-of-its-kind content-sharing agreement will include properties from Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, FX and other Disney brands. The programme is expected to launch as a pilot in the United States in the coming months before expanding to additional countries.

Participating creators will be able to share their videos on TikTok, while selected content will appear inside Verts, the vertical-video section of Disney+. Financial terms and a precise public launch date have not been disclosed.

How the Disney and TikTok deal will work

TikTok will provide eligible creators with an approved collection of assets connected to hundreds of Disney films and television series. The material will be refreshed regularly to reflect new releases, popular franchises and timely fan conversations.

Creators must opt into the programme, meaning the agreement does not give every TikTok user unrestricted permission to use Disney’s intellectual property. Videos will still need to follow copyright, moderation and brand-safety requirements set by the companies.

A jointly operated Disney Creator Ambassador Program will support the initiative. Selected participants could receive greater visibility, special rewards, invitations to exclusive events and opportunities aimed at supporting their careers.

The structure gives Disney a controlled way to encourage fan creativity without giving up oversight of valuable characters. It could also help the company identify creators who understand its franchises and already have strong relationships with online communities.

Why short-form video matters to Disney+

TikTok has become an important entertainment-discovery platform, where recommendations, reactions and fan edits can influence what audiences choose to watch. The company said users shared an average of 6.5 million film- and television-related posts each day during the previous year.

An Ipsos survey cited in the announcement found that nearly half of surveyed viewers aged 18 to 49 watched a film or television programme after discovering related content on TikTok. The research covered audiences across seven major international markets.

The changing viewing habit is one reason platforms are investing in shorter mobile formats. TikTok has already experimented with compact scripted entertainment, including its move toward 90-second micro-dramas designed for vertical viewing.

For Disney, the aim is to turn social discovery into deeper engagement. Someone who encounters a Marvel edit or Pixar character video on TikTok could move to Disney+ to find the original film, series or related creator content.

The strategy may make Disney+ feel more active between major releases, although popular short videos will not automatically create subscriptions or longer viewing sessions. The transition from a creator clip to a full programme must remain useful and easy for viewers.

What the partnership means for creators

Official access could reduce some of the copyright uncertainty surrounding fan-made videos. However, important questions remain about monetisation, attribution, content removal and how Disney will handle inappropriate or misleading edits.

The agreement also follows Disney’s earlier attempt to bring licensed fan-created videos to streaming through its Disney and OpenAI Sora partnership. The TikTok arrangement takes a more creator-led approach by working with an established social-video community.

Disney’s official partnership announcement confirms the US pilot and planned international expansion, but complete eligibility rules have yet to be published.

The deal shows how major entertainment companies are adapting to audiences who increasingly discover stories through short clips. Disney is not replacing its films and series with vertical video; it is using creator content as another route into its wider streaming library.