The three-part miniseries is already finished, blends live action with hand-drawn 2D animation, and lands on the character’s 100th birthday. It also arrives after Oswald entered the public domain.
Jon Favreau has made a Disney show about the character Disney lost.
“Oswald the Lucky Rabbit” premieres on Disney+ in February 2027 as a three-part miniseries. Favreau wrote, directed and executive produced it.
The series is complete. Disney announced a finished show five months before it airs.
What Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is about
Disney showed a first-look clip at D23 on Aug. 14, and the premise leans on real Disney history.
The footage finds Oswald poking around the Walt Disney Archives, discovering what his creators did in the century after he left.
Favreau described it as a story that reintroduces the character to a new generation while paying tribute to what Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney built.
Three actors play middle school students at the center of it. Ravi Cabot-Conyers is Jake, Mykal-Michelle Harris is Jen, and Ryder Allen is Taylor.
The rest of the cast: Albert Brooks, Amy Sedaris, Kathryn Hahn, Steve Martin and Al Madrigal.
Real Disney locations appear in the series
Favreau filmed at places that mean something to the company.
“The story of Oswald is set in many historic locations that Disney fans would recognize, like the site of the old Hyperion Studios in Silver Lake, Walt’s office, Office 36 on the Disney lot in Burbank,” he said at D23.
Filming also took place at Disneyland.
Disney went back to hand-drawn animation for this
The series blends live action with traditional hand-drawn 2D animation, a technique Disney has largely set aside for two decades.
The SPA Studios, founded by Sergio Pablos and best known for “Klaus,” handled animation duties alongside veteran Walt Disney Animation Studios animators Favreau brought in specifically.
John Debney composed the score. His Disney credits run through “Hocus Pocus,” “The Emperor’s New Groove,” “The Princess Diaries” and Favreau’s 2016 “The Jungle Book.”
Who is Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created Oswald in 1927 for Universal Pictures. He was a hit.
In 1928, Universal took control of the character and most of Disney’s animation staff. Disney and Iwerks responded by creating Mickey Mouse.
Disney reacquired the rights to Oswald in 2006, roughly 78 years later.
He resurfaced in the 2010 video game “Epic Mickey,” which put him on screen with Mickey for the first time. He made his first animated appearance in 85 years in the 2013 short “Get a Horse!” In late 2022, Disney released a hand-drawn Oswald short for its 100th anniversary, the character’s first in 95 years.
Oswald is in the public domain now
Per Variety, the character entered the public domain in 2023, following the expiration of copyright on his earliest 1927 appearances.
Which means Disney spent 78 years getting Oswald back, held him for 17, and is now producing a prestige miniseries about a character other studios can also use.
Trademark protections and later depictions work differently from expired copyrights, so the practical situation is more complicated than a headline allows. It remains an unusual position for a company that has historically fought hard on exactly this ground.
Why February 2027 matters
The date is not arbitrary.
Oswald debuted in the short “Trolley Troubles” in 1927. A February 2027 premiere lands on the character’s 100th anniversary.
Favreau has been building toward this since the series was greenlit in March 2025, with filming through later that year.
What else Kathryn Hahn is doing for Disney
She had a busy D23, appearing in two separate presentations.
Beyond Oswald, Hahn plays Mother Gothel in Disney’s live-action “Tangled.” She introduced first-look footage at the showcase, with Teagan Croft as Rapunzel and Milo Manheim as Flynn Rider appearing by video from Spain, where filming continues.
Cabot-Conyers previously starred in “Skeleton Crew,” which Favreau executive produced, and voiced a Madrigal in “Encanto.” Harris voiced Blaze in “Toy Story 5.”
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Variety, the February 2027 date, the full cast, the Oswald and Mickey origin history and the public domain status
WDW News Today, the three-part format, the veteran 2D animators, John Debney’s involvement and the collectible cards
MickeyBlog, Favreau’s quote on the historic filming locations and the 2022 hand-drawn short
Disney TV Animation, the Walt Disney Archives clip description, Favreau’s comments and The SPA Studios credit
ABC7, the confirmation that the miniseries is complete and the “Tangled” first look
SuperHeroHype, via Yahoo, the March 2025 greenlight and the character names for the three young leads