Will Disney Ever Make A Series Starring Oswald The Rabbit? Animator Matt Danner Says It's Possible

Plans by the Walt Disney Co. DIS to create a new series starring Oswald the Rabbit, the animated character that Walt Disney created but was forced to give up, have been put on indefinite hold, although an animator connected to the project insisted the production could eventually get the greenlight.

What Happened: The Disney-focused blog Inside the Magic reported on animator Matt Danner’s acknowledgement that former Disney CEO Bob Iger was gung-ho about creating the studio’s first animated series that put Oswald in the spotlight.

“Iger was very serious about it,” Danner tweeted. “'The Legend of the Three Caballeros' team was going to follow up with an Oswald show for streaming. Scripts written, designs done, animation test in hand, and a pilot in production. It was beautiful! Then we got broken up and scattered to the wind.”

The Oswald project was first announced in 2019, but Danner did not provide a timeline on the pre-production and cancellation of the endeavor. However, he insisted it could still be made.

“Hey gang!,” Danner continued on his Twitter TWTR channel. “Don’t be sad about this. Oswald has A LOT of love within Disney. I just wanted to share how serious that love is. I’m sure there will be an Oswald project coming your way in the near future.

“Lots of people jumping to conclusions here. No one is saying there is no Oswald content in development. Just saying MY TEAM’S version has not been in development for a few years. I wanted to share how passionate and serious myself and the folks at Disney are about Oswald.”

Why It Matters: Disney and animator Ub Iwerks created Oswald in 1927 for Universal Pictures and produced 27 animated shorts starring the character. But Disney had a financial falling out with his Universal producer Charles Mintz and opted to create his own animation studio. Since Universal owned the rights to Oswald, Disney and Iwerks created a new character called Mickey Mouse.

While Mickey Mouse would become the foundation of the Disney empire, Oswald’s popularity began to fade over the 1930s as other animators were assigned to create cartoons featuring the character. The last cartoon in the Universal Oswald series was produced in 1938.

Disney acquired the rights to Oswald in 2006 and the character turned up in the video game “Epic Mickey” and in the 2013 short “Get a Horse.” A costumed Oswald character has appeared at Disney theme parks, where Oswald merchandise is on sale.

Photo: Oswald the Rabbit in the 1928 "Rival Romeos," directed by Walt Disney.