The Walt Disney Company and WEBTOON Entertainment have announced plans to create a new digital comics platform that will bring together more than 35,000 comic books from Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Pixar, and 20th Century Studios. This marks the first time such a wide range of titles will be available on a single service.
The planned platform will build upon Marvel Unlimited, Disney’s current digital comics subscription service. WEBTOON Entertainment will develop and operate the new service, which aims to provide both archived and current comic book runs as well as original stories in vertical and traditional formats. In addition to content from Disney’s brands, select WEBTOON Original stories will also be included.
Disney+ subscribers will gain access to a curated selection of these comics through the Disney+ Perks program at no extra cost.
WEBTOON Entertainment and Disney previously entered into a multi-year collaboration that included nearly 100 reformatted classics and original series tailored for WEBTOON’s vertical-scroll format.
“By uniting our unparalleled collection of comics across Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Pixar and 20th Century Studios into a single digital platform, we’re giving fans unprecedented access to the adventures they love – all in one place,” said Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Experiences. “Through our expanded relationship with WEBTOON, the global leader in digital comics, we’re opening doors to new audiences and deepening fan engagement.”
The companies plan for broad distribution of the new platform. Some comics will be localized for Korean and Japanese readers via WEBTOON’s platforms.
Disney has also signed a non-binding term sheet to acquire a 2% equity stake in WEBTOON Entertainment as part of this commercial partnership. The investment is subject to final agreements between both parties.
“With a new platform that will combine our product and technical expertise with Disney’s full comic catalog, we’re giving new and longtime fans all over the world a new way to discover these legendary characters and stories,” said Junkoo Kim, Founder and CEO of WEBTOON Entertainment. “Disney’s extraordinary storytelling legacy is second to none, and we’re honored to work with them to build the future of digital comics. This is a powerful next step for our growing global business, and a strong foundation for even greater collaboration with Disney in the years ahead.”
WEBTOON Entertainment operates some of the largest storytelling platforms globally with about 155 million monthly active users across its ecosystem.
The Walt Disney Company reported $91.4 billion in revenue during its fiscal year 2024.
