Jon Favreau to produce Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series on Disney+

Just over 98 years ago, Walt Disney and animator Ub Iwerks created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who was the precursor to Mickey Mouse. Even though Oswald hasn’t reached the same level of fame he had in the late 1920s, Disney is gearing up to give this classic character a big comeback with a brand new original series on Disney+.

According to Deadline, Jon Favreau, the mastermind behind The Mandalorian, will be writing and producing the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series. While it’s still uncertain if the show will be animated or a mix of live-action and animation, Favreau’s experience with projects like The Lion King and Jungle Book remakes, as well as the first two Iron Man movies, makes him a perfect fit for the job. Favreau has also directed The Mandalorian and the upcoming Star Wars movie featuring Grogu, set to premiere in May 2026.

Disney originally created 26 Oswald shorts that were distributed by Universal Pictures, but due to not owning the character, Disney and Iwerks turned their attention to Mickey Mouse, leaving Oswald to gather dust in Universal’s vault for many years. However, in 2006, Disney struck a deal with NBC/Universal at the urging of CEO Bob Iger, exchanging the rights to Oswald for the services of sportscaster Al Michaels. Since then, Oswald has gradually made his way into Disney theme parks with merchandise and character meet-and-greets.

One of the main reasons Disney wanted Oswald back in the fold was for the 2010 video game, Epic Mickey, which has recently seen a resurgence in popularity.