The Walt Disney Company has signed a multiyear deal with Adobe to build generative AI models for its production pipeline. The partnership was announced today at Adobe’s MAX conference. Disney gets early access to Adobe’s newest AI tools across theme parks, its cruise line, and ESPN.
At the center is Adobe Firefly Foundry. Disney will work directly with Adobe to train custom models on Disney properties. That includes character attributes, environments, and visual styles. Adobe says the output will be “commercially safe and production-ready.”
Disney’s Imagineering R&D team already uses Adobe’s Firefly platform for theme park development. The new agreement pushes that work into Walt Disney Studios and ESPN.
Adobe said it will help “expand internal creative workflows” at the studios. It will also study how AI can shape ESPN content and deepen fan engagement. The company frames the models as “artist-led,” meaning Disney staff guide what the systems learn.
The deal follows an earlier Disney agreement with OpenAI. Disney also appeared in the fallout around Character.AI’s bankruptcy filing. Both moves show a studio willing to test AI with partners instead of building everything alone.
Adobe has been pushing its own AI deeper into creative work for a while. Its agents now sit inside Photoshop and Premiere, which raised similar questions about credit for artists.
The timing carries pressure. Bloomberg reported last week that Disney is preparing to cut thousands of jobs. The company is targeting 20 percent annual savings. It would be the fourth round of layoffs at Disney in 2026.
For Adobe, the win is a marquee customer. Firefly Foundry sells custom models, not just software seats. A brand like Disney validates the idea that studios want AI trained on their own assets rather than the open web.
Disney has not said which productions will use the tools first. It also has not disclosed financial terms.
Source: The Verge
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