The Walt Disney Company and WEBTOON Entertainment have announced a plan to launch a new digital comics platform that will bring together over 35,000 titles from Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Pixar, and 20th Century Studios. The service aims to provide access to both current comic book runs and decades of archived content through a single subscription.
The companies have signed a non-binding term sheet outlining the development of this platform. WEBTOON Entertainment will build and operate the service, which expands upon the existing Marvel Unlimited offering. In addition to comics from Disney’s portfolio, the platform will also include selected WEBTOON Original stories and offer both vertical-scroll and traditional formats.
As part of the initiative, Disney+ subscribers will be able to access a curated selection of comic titles in the new app at no extra cost under the Disney+ Perks program.
Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro said: “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. Through our expanded relationship with WEBTOON, the global leader in digital comics, we’re opening doors to new audiences and deepening fan engagement.”
This collaboration builds on an earlier multi-year agreement between Disney and WEBTOON for nearly 100 reformatted classics as well as original series adapted for WEBTOON’s vertical-scroll format.
Select comics are expected to be localized for distribution on WEBTOON’s Korean and Japanese platforms.
Alongside these commercial plans, Disney is considering acquiring a 2% equity stake in WEBTOON Entertainment. Both this investment proposal and the collaboration remain subject to final agreements on mutually acceptable terms.
Junkoo Kim, Founder and CEO of WEBTOON Entertainment stated: “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. 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 reports having approximately 155 million monthly active users worldwide across its webcomic platforms.
Disney operates internationally across entertainment segments including film production as well as sports broadcasting. In its fiscal year 2024 financial report it posted annual revenue totaling $91.4 billion.
