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When Sam Altman told Josh D’Amaro that OpenAI was ending its Sora plans, D’Amaro reportedly replied, “I get it.” Altman described the decision as a painful choice to redirect computing capacity and product resources to other priorities—not as an admission that the Disney–OpenAI partnership was fake. The phrase “smoke and mirrors” is headline framing; the reported quotations do not establish that Altman said it.
What Altman reportedly told Disney
In an account of Altman’s appearance on the Mostly Human podcast, Futurism reported that he said D’Amaro responded “I get it” after Altman explained OpenAI’s decision to end its Sora plans. Altman described disappointing a partner, users and the team as “super sad,” while saying OpenAI still cared about Sora, generated video and its relationship with Disney. He also reportedly left open the possibility of finding another way to work together.
Altman’s reported explanation was about priorities and scarce resources. He said OpenAI needed to focus compute and product capacity on work such as next-generation automated researchers and companies. He framed the decision as a difficult executive trade-off: a worthwhile project can still lose out when it is not the organization’s highest priority. Futurism also reported that Sora was costing about $1 million per day, but that figure is the publication’s reporting, not a financial disclosure verified in the cited primary materials.
The account is based on quotations reproduced by Futurism; the cited material does not include a full podcast transcript or recording. The wording should therefore be understood as reported speech, not a verbatim transcript available for independent review.
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What the Disney–OpenAI deal was supposed to be
On December 11, 2025, Disney and OpenAI announced a proposed three-year licensing arrangement. Disney planned to invest $1 billion in OpenAI, with warrants for additional equity, and license more than 200 characters and related assets from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars for Sora-generated short videos. The announcement also envisioned some selected videos appearing on Disney+, access to licensed intellectual property in ChatGPT Images, OpenAI APIs for Disney products and experiences, and ChatGPT for Disney employees. The stated license excluded talent likenesses and voices. (OpenAI’s announcement; Disney’s announcement.)
Those terms described a proposed transaction, not proof that every part closed. OpenAI’s announcement said it was subject to definitive agreements, approvals and customary closing conditions. Disney’s February 2, 2026 earnings transcript still referred to plans for a curated slate of Sora-generated content on Disney+, but that statement preceded OpenAI’s decision to wind down Sora. It does not establish that the content slate launched.
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How the plan unraveled
OpenAI launched Sora beyond its research preview on December 9, 2024, then introduced Sora 2 on September 30, 2025, describing it as a video-and-audio generation model with synchronized dialogue and sound effects. The Disney announcement followed in December 2025. In late March 2026, OpenAI announced it was discontinuing Sora and winding down the Disney arrangement, according to Futurism’s reporting and OpenAI’s Sora materials.
OpenAI’s Help Center says the Sora web and app experiences were discontinued on April 26, 2026. As of August 18, 2026, OpenAI lists September 24, 2026 as the scheduled discontinuation date for the Sora API. The Disney–OpenAI Sora partnership is therefore not operating in the form originally announced.
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Does “smoke and mirrors” accurately describe the deal?
Not as a verified quotation or confession. The phrase appears in Futurism’s headline, while its reported account of Altman’s remarks describes a difficult resource decision and D’Amaro’s understanding response. It does not show Altman saying the partnership was fraudulent, that Sora never worked, or that the public announcement was knowingly illusory.
The phrase can be read as commentary on the distance between the ambitious public vision and the eventual result: a planned investment, character licensing, possible Disney+ videos and enterprise use did not become the durable arrangement initially advertised. But a plan ending is not evidence that it was fake from the outset. OpenAI’s original announcement expressly made the transaction conditional on further agreements and approvals.
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Nor does the available evidence establish that Disney transferred the announced $1 billion. The accurate description is that Disney planned to make the investment. The cited announcements lay out closing conditions, and the cited reporting says the planned investment would not go ahead; the available sources do not verify that funds were paid or that the investment closed. It would be misleading to say Disney lost or paid $1 billion without confirmation.
Was copyright the reason Sora ended?
Copyright, attribution, likenesses and misuse were important issues around generative video, but the sources cited here do not establish that a specific copyright dispute caused OpenAI to end Sora or the Disney arrangement. Altman’s reported explanation focused on compute and competing priorities. OpenAI’s safety materials describe measures such as provenance signals, C2PA metadata, visible watermarks, abuse reporting and likeness-related restrictions. These are the company’s descriptions of its controls, not independent proof that every risk was eliminated.
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It is also possible to distinguish product economics from technical capability. Ending Sora does not prove that video generation had no value or that the technology did not work. It shows that OpenAI chose not to continue the product in that form, reportedly because other work took priority. A product can be impressive and still be too resource-intensive or strategically less important to keep operating.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Could Disney and OpenAI work together again?
Altman reportedly expressed interest in finding another way to collaborate. That is not confirmation of a replacement agreement. The sources cited here do not verify a new investment, license, Disney+ product or other successor deal. For now, the distinction is simple: Altman left the door open in reported comments, but no specific future partnership is established.
Status as of August 18, 2026
- Sora web and app: discontinued April 26, 2026, according to OpenAI’s Help Center.
- Sora API: scheduled to be discontinued September 24, 2026, according to the same Help Center notice.
- Disney–OpenAI Sora plan: did not proceed as originally announced and is being wound down, according to reporting.
- $1 billion investment: announced as a plan; completion is not verified in the available sources.
- Future collaboration: Altman reportedly expressed openness, but no replacement arrangement is confirmed.
Leadership-title note: Futurism identifies D’Amaro as Disney’s CEO in its April 2026 account, while Disney’s December 2025 announcement quotes Robert A. Iger as CEO. The cited material does not resolve the change or timing, so this article refers to D’Amaro by name rather than treating the title chronology as established.
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Sources: Futurism’s report of Altman’s comments; OpenAI’s deal announcement; Disney’s deal announcement; Disney Q1 FY2026 earnings transcript; OpenAI’s original Sora launch; OpenAI’s Sora 2 announcement; OpenAI’s Sora safety materials; OpenAI on launching Sora responsibly; OpenAI’s discontinuation notice.
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