The Walt Disney Company and WEBTOON Entertainment have announced plans to develop a new digital comics platform that will bring together over 35,000 titles from Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Pixar, and 20th Century Studios. This initiative marks the first time such a large collection of comics from across Disney’s portfolio will be available on a single service.
The new platform will expand upon Marvel Unlimited, which is currently Marvel’s digital comics subscription service. It will be built and operated by WEBTOON Entertainment and aims to provide both current subscribers and new users with access to decades of archived comics as well as current comic book runs. The offering will also include WEBTOON Original stories in both vertical and traditional formats.
Disney+ subscribers will receive access to a curated selection of these comic titles at no additional charge through the Disney+ Perks program.
Previously, Disney and WEBTOON collaborated on nearly 100 reformatted classics and original series designed 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 wide distribution for the new platform. Select titles are expected to be localized for Korean and Japanese readers using WEBTOON’s regional platforms.
In addition to their commercial partnership plans, Disney has agreed on a non-binding term sheet for acquiring a 2% equity stake in WEBTOON Entertainment. Both the proposed investment and commercial collaboration are subject to final agreements between the 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 world’s largest storytelling platforms with about 155 million monthly active users globally through its network that includes Wattpad—considered among the leading webnovel platforms—as well as Studio N, Studio LICO, LINE Manga, eBookJapan among others.
The Walt Disney Company reported annual revenue of $91.4 billion in its Fiscal Year 2024 through its three business segments: Entertainment, Sports, and Experiences.
