Disney enters its robot era
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The Mandalorian appears on stage with robots during the The Future of World Building at Disney'on March 8 in Austin, Texas. Photo: Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images
Disney's $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games last year is part of a broader push to amplify its franchise flywheel with new tech, Disney Experiences chair Josh D'Amaro and Disney Entertainment co-chair Alan Bergman told Axios in an interview from SXSW.
Why it matters: "From an investor point of view, the combination of strong IP and ambitious investment leads to returns," D'Amaro said.
- "If you look at the return on invested capital over the period of time when we started leaning in [to tech innovation], it goes up by 3 times," D'Amaro said.
- A 2024 regulatory filing shows that return on investment is even higher when looking at certain franchises, such as "Frozen" and "Toy Story."
State of play: D'Amaro and Bergman appeared on stage at the annual SXSW conference in Texas on Saturday to unveil a slew of tech-enabled additions to their franchises.
- They were joined by director Jon Favreau who showed off new BDX droid robots built by Disney's Imagineering team for his upcoming film "The Mandalorian & Grogu."
- The free-roaming animatronic robots, which resemble the famous Star Wars character R2-D2, will also be brought to Disney's parks and experiences, per D'Amaro.
- Favreau is leveraging Epic Games' 3D creation tool Unreal Engine for many of the new tech experiences related to his upcoming movie.
Zoom out: Disney has long invested in technology, but as the media landscape shifts away from traditional television and movie theaters, it's had to rely more on innovation and collaboration among its studios and parks to push its IP forward.
- Over the past few years, Disney has brought more of its franchises into its parks as part of that effort.
- A new Monsters, Inc.-themed land is coming to Hollywood Studios. New Encanto and Indiana Jones attractions are in the works at Disney's Animal Kingdom. An Avatar-themed destination is coming to Disney California Adventure.
- Great park experiences are often what inspire new film sequels, Bergman said, pointing to examples such as Zootopia land, which opened in Shanghai in 2023, ahead of a planned sequel.
The big picture: Disney's streaming business was the focal point of its epic stock rally during the pandemic. But in the years since, it's faced increased pressure on Wall Street to make its streaming products more profitable and find new ways to monetize its IP.
- Collecting data from across all of Disney's consumer touch points has been a major focus for the company over the past few years, Bergman said.
- "We're getting more and more sophisticated about how we use that data in the right way to create a guest experience and ultimately to create that synergistic effect," D'Amaro said.
What to watch: The integration of Epic Games' tech across Disney's franchises will hopefully result in more consumer experiences that resonate with younger generations, per D'Amaro.
- "Technology is going to allow us to serve consumers where they are and bring the Disney brand to consumers that may not be familiar with us, and create that generational effect," he said.
