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.
A recent update to the Disneyland and Walt Disney World mobile apps now lets users track the status of mobile food orders (from select venues in Disney’s US parks) on the iPhone’s lock screen or in the Dynamic Island. Users can also notify a restaurant to start preparing their order once they’re nearby, without having to open the mobile app.
As the NFL’s Netflix broadcasts threaten to dominate Christmas and people fret over ratings drops, today’s slate of NBA games includes a “Dunk the Halls” simulcast — similar to other overlay broadcasts we’ve seen recently — available on Disney Plus.
Instead of Jalen Brunson and the Knicks vs. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, it’s their cartoon avatars, with occasional drop-ins from recognizable characters. Are any of you watching this instead of Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson?
We got a healthy dose of Star Wars and Marvel shows on Disney Plus this year, but the more mature series from Hulu helped balance things out.
Pixar’s Win or Lose won’t have the story in one of its later episodes, according to The Hollywood Reporter:
A spokesperson for Disney confirmed that the story arc was removed and provided the following statement to THR: “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”
Disney has also reportedly pulled a trans-inclusive story from the final season of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
[The Hollywood Reporter]
For reasons that only Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston, and Jane Kaczmarek know, Disney Plus has ordered four episodes of a new Malcolm in the Middle revival in which “Malcolm (Muniz) and his daughter are drawn into the family’s chaos when Hal (Cranston) and Lois (Kaczmarek) demand his presence for their 40th wedding anniversary party.”
Most everyone’s feeling festive in the new trailer for Doctor Who’s latest Christmas special, but the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) himself seems to be dealing with an existential crisis.
Neither he nor his new buddy Joy (Nicola Coughlan) seem to know why there are two of him at the same place and time. But they’ll probably have a blast figuring it out when the epidode debuts on December 25th.
Disney Plus’ latest Star Wars series is trying to speak directly to a new generation of young fans.
Even if Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’s “The Goonies, but in space” premise doesn’t sound like it’s up your alley, you gotta admit that this kid’s all-terrain hover bike is sick as hell. If this is the kind of heat the show’s bringing when it premieres tomorrow, it might be something really special.
Feels like it’s been ages since we heard anything about Pixar’s Elio from co-directors Domee Shi, Madeline Sharafian, and Adrian Molina. But the studio has just dropped another trailer teasing how an alien bathroom is one of the most beautiful things young Elio (Yonas Kibreab) will see on his space adventure when the film hits theaters on June 13th.
The film surpassed Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as the most-viewed live-action title on Disney Plus and Hulu, Variety reports. Deadpool & Wolverine made its debut on Disney Plus on November 12th.
The company is dropping its legal battle in favor of an 11-year settlement for domestic and global rights to “a significant amount of NBA content,” reports The Wall Street Journal.
WBD’s TNT will still lose NBA games to Disney, Amazon, and NBCUniversal next year, but got one consolation:
In addition, these people said, ESPN will sublicense Big 12 conference college football and basketball games to Warner Bros. Discovery that it can air on TNT, as well as on its Max streaming service.
Disney is searching for potential CEO candidates outside of the company, and one person being considered is EA CEO Andrew Wilson, Variety and The Wall Street Journal report. The company plans to announce Bob Iger’s successor in early 2026.
Rebooting the member list, taking the show streaming — is it enough in the age of AI?
To me, his blue fur looks a little dull. But I really can’t complain — especially when the creepy live-action Minecraft animals and a photorealistic Simba exist.
But Marvel’s WandaVision follow-up stuck the landing by spelling out the secrets that were hiding in plain sight.
Disney co-chairman Alan Bergman announced the Office of Technology Enablement in an email seen by Reuters:
The pace and scope of the advances in AI and XR (extended reality) are profound and will continue to impact consumer experiences, creative endeavors and our businesses for years to come - making it critical that Disney explore the exciting opportunities and navigate the potential risks.
Disney CTO Jamie Voris, who helped create the Disney Plus Vision Pro app, will reportedly helm the new division. The company eliminated its metaverse unit last year.
As outlined in a federal complaint spotted by 404 Media, the former employee also allegedly locked 14 staff members out of their Disney accounts using a script to perform thousands of login attempts. He’s also accused of having a “dox” folder on his computer containing personal information about the workers he targeted.
Variety is reporting that the next live-action Spider-Man movie has been given a tentative July 24, 2026 premiere date. That isn’t necessarily when the movie will end up coming out, but it definitely tells us that Marvel and Sony are bullish about getting the Destin Daniel Cretton-directed feature into theaters.
Sony’s third Venom feature feels like another throwback to when comic book movies kept things short and silly.
Following the first wave of Disney Plus series coming out on 4K UHD and Blu-ray last year, physical copies of The Mandalorian’s third season, Ahsoka’s first season, Hawkeye’s first season, and Loki’s second season are set to hit stores on October 31st.
Disney Tron: Catalyst, a new title from Devolver Digital’s new Big Fan indie label, is an “all-new story-driven, isometric action adventure game.” The game is being developed by Bithell Games, the team behind the visual novel Tron: Identity.
Catalyst is set to launch in 2025 on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
There’s white smoke from ESPN’s HQ in Bristol, CT, today, as Shams Charania broke the news of his own free agent signing, saying:
I am honored to join ESPN as the company’s Senior NBA Insider.
He will take over the spot from his one-time mentor and longtime rival, Wojnarowski, who announced his retirement last month.
