\n<\/p>\n
Disney is finally doing something new with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit over 20 years after reacquiring the rights to Mickey Mouse’s predecessor for Epic Mickey<\/em>. In one of the more under-the-radar announcements from Friday’s flagship D23 showcase, Jon Favreau announced an Oswald miniseries releasing on Disney Plus in Feb. 2027.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Walt Disney actually created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit before Mickey Mouse, but he did not own the rights to the character. Oswald was abandoned and fell into obscurity as a result. Mickey Mouse, which Disney owned outright, became the company’s flagship character. In 2006, Disney made a deal with NBCUniversal to get the rights to Oswald back by trading ESPN sportscaster Al Michaels to NBC’s sports programming team. A few years later, Disney’s reason for wanting Oswald became clearer.<\/p>\n Oswald had a starring role in Epic Mickey<\/em>, a Wii game about Mickey Mouse exploring worlds filled with obscure and forgotten Disney characters. He would go on to appear in Epic Mickey’s<\/em> sequel and 2024 remaster, but has otherwise mostly been relegated to the occasional cameo or brief reference in other Disney Animation projects. Now, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit will get a miniseries to call his own.<\/p>\n The three-part miniseries, simply titled Oswald<\/em>, will blend live action and animation like Coyote vs. Acme<\/em> does. In it, Oswald will escape into the real world after an earthquake and befriend a group of middle school kids who help him explore a world he hasn’t seen in a century.<\/p>\n The project was written, co-directed, and produced by Jon Favreau, best known for directing the first two Iron Man films, Elf<\/em>, and May’s The Mandalorian and Grogu<\/em>. Some of the show’s cast has been confirmed, with Kathryn Hahn being the most prominent cast member. Ryder Allen, Albert Brooks, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Mykal-Michelle Harris, and Al Madrigal also star.<\/p>\n Oswald <\/em>will premiere on Disney Plus on Feb. 17, 2027, nearly 100 years after the character’s first appearance in the Trolley Troubles<\/em> animated short. In the interim, Epic Mickey Rebrushed<\/em> is being ported to iOS and Android on Sept. 16 and Nintendo Switch 2 on Oct. 6.<\/p>\n