Once the public face of squeaky-clean, harmless family entertainment, the Walt Disney Corporation has evolved into a widespread conglomerate known as much for the properties it controls as the films it produces. With subsidiaries including Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, National Geographic, A&E, 20th Century Fox, ESPN, Hulu, and Pixar, Disney has a commanding control of some of the world’s most lucrative franchises, plus an extensive library of film and TV classics. Its streaming service Disney+ signals a new interest in controlling its own online distribution, setting aside decades of licensing partnerships. Follow along with The Verge as we look at Disney’s new films and shows, and its strategies for dominating the box office and the streaming dollar.
The show, originally pitched by showrunner Leslye Headland as “Frozen meets Kill Bill,” will be out in Summer 2024, according to Collider. Disney had previously only confirmed it as coming this year.
Disney CEO Bob Iger had previously targeted next year for the launch of a streaming version of ESPN’s main channel (no watered-down ESPN Plus, just ESPN).
Now that the deal for a sports streaming Voltron with Warner Bros. and Fox is sewed up, Iger said to CNBC’s Julia Boorstin that direct-to-consumer ESPN could launch in late August 2025, and confirmed to investors that it will be available in a bundle with Hulu and Disney Plus.
The animated sequel follows Moana and friends on yet another journey at sea, as they venture “into the dangerous, long-lost waters” of Oceania. It hits theaters on November 27th.
A mix of 42 popular Disney flicks, including Finding Nemo, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens are headed to the Vision Pro headset in 3D. Disney Plus subscribers will get access to the whole catalog, but non-subscribers can still rent or buy 3D movies from the Apple TV app.
The Awesomer pointed to this screen recording of someone doing just that on YouTube. But that’s no fun, so here’s an Internet Archive link to the requisite files, uploaded the day Steamboat Willie’s version of Mickey Mouse entered the public domain this year.
It’s not necessarily the best way to experience this version of Mickey Mouse, but it’s certainly a way.
Former TechCrunch EIC Matthew Panzarino got to touch it — something we’d heard was beyond the reach of mere mortals who don’t work for Disney Parks.
It looks just as mindblowing as ever. I am so damn jealous. Here’s how the lightsaber likely works.
Disney announced the Clone Wars spinoff’s renewal during its Celebration event last spring, and now fans can actually see it before it premieres on Disney Plus with three episodes starting February 21st.
Emperor Palpatine, Dr. Royce Hemlock, and Asajj Ventress make an appearance in this preview of the series that follows the vagabonding Clone Force 99’s movements after refusing to obey Order 66.
Is apparently a question Marvel’s What If...? is going to ask when its third season hits Disney Plus at some point in the future.
Disney’s Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire was a gorgeous example what kind of magic the entertainment giant could work by collaborating with African animation studios.
And Disney Plus’ upcoming series Iwájú from Ziki Nelson, Hamid Ibrahi, and Toluwalakin Olowofoyeko looks like it’s going to have the same spirit judging from these newly-released images. The show drops on February 28th.
I’m very intrigued by the Holo Tile demo that the Disney Parks YouTube account posted earlier this week. It’s a little like an omnidirectional VR treadmill that multiple people can use (just, you know, very slowly).
The tech looks to be in very early stages, but if you squint, it almost makes Star Trek: TNG’s holodecks seem feasible.
Echo star and Daredevil alum Vincent D’Onofrio says Netflix’s Marvel series are part of the MCU’s canon, which was obvious if you watched shows or listened to Kevin Feige.
Chapek and Masimo aren’t names I expected to see linked together!
The former Disney CEO is joining the medical device maker amid its dispute with Apple (which could be nearing its conclusion).
The lawsuit from movie financier TSG Entertainment alleged that Disney used tricky accounting to withhold millions of dollars from it. For instance, TSG believes it was underpaid by “at least $40 million” for The Shape of Water, making it harder to invest in other films, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The reported settlement’s terms were undisclosed, the Reporter writes.
Rumors have said Disney wants the NBA and NFL to become part owners of its sports network. A Friday New York Post report indicates that’s close to reality for the NFL, which is said to be in “advanced talks” to gain an equity stake in ESPN.
According to The Athletic, ESPN would take over NFL Media, which includes the NFL Network. That’s as Disney plans to make ESPN a streaming service in 2025.
[The Athletic]
Disney Plus’ Echo limited miniseries feels like the studio’s first successful attempt at matching the energy that made Netflix’s Marvel shows great.
Okay. So there’s something called a “Disney Day Drinkers Club” (more than 85,000 members!) and their mascot is a trash can called “Binny.” Disney has moved the trash can.
Too many people were lining up for photos with Binny, blocking the pub’s entrance and causing safety issues, says a Disney spokeswoman.
Moving Binny was a big deal, says Sher, the founder, because of Disney superfans’s obsessive attention to detail, and fandom that can border on fanaticism.
After a debut in the Hawkeye Disney Plus series a couple of years ago, the Echo show starring Alaqua Cox starts January 9th. Other than serving as another link to the Netflix shows with appearances from Vincent D’Onofrio (Kingpin) and Charlie Cox (Daredevil), it’s appearing on both Hulu and Disney Plus, even as those experiences overlap.
And it’s the first Spotlight-branded Marvel show, which means:
...in the case of Echo, focusing on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity...our audience doesn’t need to have seen other Marvel series to understand what’s happening in Maya’s story.
Disney just released season 2 a few days ago. Now Marvel has posted a “look into the future” of the alternative timeline Avengers series, featuring a younger Red Guardian, the Winter Soldier, and a car chase.
The video leaked early when fans found it unlisted on Marvel’s YouTube channel, according to BGR.
What If’s second season is at its best when it’s exploring the edges of Marvel’s established cinematic canon.
In his year-end Screenwriter newsletter, Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw seeded some new TV rumors while laying out why the spinoff apocalypse is nigh.
According to Shaw, Netflix is considering an Uncle Fester spinoff from Wednesday and is making two Peaky Blinders shows. And maybe it’s not a new rumor, per se, but Shaw says Disney really is making that new, Ryan Coogler-produced X-Files.
TechDirt published a helpful reminder yesterday that the 1928 “Steamboat Willie” iteration of the Disney character will become the people’s mouse on January 1st, 2024. The article also points to a Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain guide for using the early design.
You could take a page out of the Winnie-the-Pooh: the Deforested Edition playbook and create “Steamboat Willie: the Climate Change Edition,” in which Mickey’s boat is grounded in a dry riverbed. You could create a feminist remake with Minnie Mouse as the central figure. You could reimagine Mickey and Minnie dedicating themselves to animal welfare.
[web.law.duke.edu]
We’re just weeks away from a new year (no, really, I checked), but before the calendar flips over, the MCU will deliver a new season of its animated What If...? series on Disney Plus.
They reworked the 12 Days of Christmas carol as a reminder it’s on the way, just in case anyone forgot.
