A Disney-Playboy partnership seems unlikely for obvious reasons. So far, there has never been an official marketing collaboration between the two. Good-mouse-gone-bad is a tempting idea, but it also presents risks. One film, in particular, almost made this a reality. The movie in question is Tron, and before it became the cultural touchstone as audiences know it today, Playboy magazine saw the potential in its impact and made a force-joining offer to the Mouse House.
Tron was a game-changer in the CG industry, and it eventually concluded with a $33 billion box office, but in 1982, when the film first came out, it was deemed an experimental failure. Instead of the slated Christmas release, Disney spiced up the game with its top competitor and decided to go for an earlier release for Tron on Sept. 9. The initial box office didn't impress, but the film gradually gained a cult following.
Back in 1982, the marketing for Tron brought some headaches to publicists, who at the time couldn't decide the film's targeted audience due to its innovative ideas. Playboy Magazine expressed interest in shooting a photo spread called "The Girls of Tron" with models covered by circuit boards. However, the idea was still too challenging for the Mickey Mouse House. Thus, Disney declined the potential partnership.
It seems even though the collaboration didn't happen, Playboy never lost its interest in tapping into the Tron vibe. In 2010, in the spirit of Tron: Legacy's reboot of the 82's film, Playboy Magazine did a Tron-inspired photo shoot featuring Brazilian model Sasckya Porto and Russian model Irina Voronina. It was photographed by Jared Ryder and illustrated by Nigel Evan Dennis, who aimed to capture the authentic vibe of the film.
However, Playboy chief content officer Jimmy Jellinek emphasized that this was "an independent homage to Tron" instead of a partnership. "We're tapping into the cultural phenomenon in our style," said Jellinek when asked about the issue of Tron-inspired photos. Disney had no official comment on this matter. So far, there isn't any confirmed information on the upcoming Tron: Legacy sequel.
Besides the Tron-inspired photo spread, the closest crossover between Disney and Playboy was when former Disney star Bella Thorne appeared in the magazine's "No Filter" section in 2016's November issue, which attracted controversy. Although Tron didn't make this unlikely alliance happen, the 2010 Tron-inspired photos gave fans an idea of what could be when fantasy meets nudity in a high aesthetic and tasteful manner. On the other hand, a partnership like this could also stir up the public and lead to a less desirable outcome that crushes them both.