Oswald the Lucky Rabbit may be getting his own series on, Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+.
Disney hasn’t made an announcement about the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series, but writer Christopher Painter (SpongeBob SquarePants) seems to have confirmed the new project.
His online resume lists a new series called Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in the “Animated Television” section. Painter lists himself as a writer on the series for “multiple episodes.”
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is an anthropomorphic rabbit and animated cartoon character created by Walt Disney for cartoon animal films and distributed by Universal Studios in the 1920s and 1930s, serving as the Disney studio’s first animated character to feature in their own series. A total of 27 animated Oswald one-reelers were produced at Walt Disney Animation Studios (the Walt Disney Studio at the time).
In 1928, Charles Mintz took the rights of Oswald from Walt Disney and claimed Oswald as an official Universal Studios character. In November 1928, as a replacement to compete with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created Mickey Mouse for the Walt Disney Studio.
It wasn’t until 2006 that The Walt Disney Company was able to re-acquired the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit back from NBC Universal. ESPN’s parent company traded the contract of NFL play-by-play analyst Al Michaels to NBC Universal in exchange for various sports considerations and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Disney says its new streaming service, Disney+, will cost $6.99 per month when it launches in the U.S. on November 12.