Jon Favreau is Developing an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Series For Disney+

Over the last decade, the relationship between Jon Favreau and Disney has continued to expand in new and exciting ways.

After helping launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with his Iron Man films, Favreau seamlessly transitioned to Star Wars, where he not only created The Mandalorian but also laid the groundwork for an entire new era of New Republic stories.

In theaters, Favreau broke new creative ground with his photorealistic remake of The Jungle Book. Building on that success, he then delivered 2019’s The Lion King, which eventually grossed $1.657 billion.

Photo: Nick Agro/AFP via Getty Images

Now, however, Favreau may be taking on his biggest challenge yet.

An Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Streaming Series Is in the Works

According to a new report from Deadline, Favreau has begun working on an animation/live-action hybrid project starring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Photo: D23

Favreau will write and produce the streaming series with Walt Disney Studios.

Oswald’s Origins

As many Disney fans know, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was Walt Disney’s first animated star (nobody yell at me about Julius the Cat). Created in 1927, Oswald would star in 27 animated shorts, which were created by Disney, produced by Charles Mintz, and released through Universal Pictures.

Photo: Disney

Oswald’s success allowed Disney to expand its studio and hire 20 employees. In February 1928, however, Walt learned that Mintz had hired many of his animators, and Universal was taking control of the character.

Devastated, Walt would begin work on his next cartoon character, Mickey Mouse.

The Lucky Rabbit Comes Home

When Bob Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 2005, he became set on reacquiring the rights to Oswald. Eventually, a deal was worked out in which Disney acquired Oswald and the 27 shorts that Walt had worked on.

Photo: Disney

In exchange, Disney agreed to send broadcaster Al Michaels from ABC and ESPN to NBCUniversal’s NBC Sports.

“I wanted to complete Walt’s mission. I knew there was an empty spot in his heart since Oswald left…There was something about bringing Oswald back that seemed right,” Iger said when the deal was completed.

Since being reacquired by Disney in 2005, Oswald has starred in the Epic Mickey games, appeared in new merchandise, and even met guests at Disneyland. In 2022, Disney released their first new Oswald short in nearly 95 years.

Now, it looks like the Lucky Rabbit is heading to Disney+.

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