Emma Roth
Did Disney get CGI Stitch right?
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.
Disney
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.
But Marvel’s WandaVision follow-up stuck the landing by spelling out the secrets that were hiding in plain sight.
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Emma Roth
Disney reportedly created a team for AI and mixed reality.
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.
Andrew Webster
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Emma Roth
A former Disney employee is accused of hacking a menu system and altering allergy info.
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.
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Sony wants its next live-action Spider-Man movie to hit theaters in 2026.
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 / Marvel
Sony’s third Venom feature feels like another throwback to when comic book movies kept things short and silly.
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Even more Disney Plus shows are getting a physical release.
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 Plus / Marvel
Jay Peters
There’s a new Tron game in the works.
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.
Richard Lawler
Shams Charania takes over for Adrian Wojnarowski as ESPN’s senior NBA insider.
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.
Image: Shams Charania (Threads)
Richard Lawler
Sheena Vasani and Brandon Widder
Mia Sato
The battle of the Bobs.
The New York Times meticulously pieced together the bitter power struggle inside Disney between CEO Bob Iger and his successor, Bob Chapek, who was fired in 2022. The piece, which follows up a 2023 report from CNBC, chronicles Chapek’s rise and fall, and Iger’s quest to return to power.
The Palace Coup at the Magic Kingdom
[The New York Times]
Wes Davis
DirecTV takes its Disney dispute to the FCC.
DirecTV alleged in a complaint to the FCC Saturday that Disney, which pulled its channels from DirecTV last week in its latest carriage dispute, is being anticompetitive, as quoted in Variety:
“The negotiations have stalled because Disney insists on bundling and penetration requirements that a federal district court judge in New York recently found ... to be unlawful, anticompetitive, and ‘bad for consumers.’”
From Disney’s statement to the outlet:
“We urge DirecTV to stop creating diversions and instead prioritize their customers by finalizing a deal that would allow their subscribers to watch our strong upcoming lineup of sports, news and entertainment programming, starting with the return of ‘Monday Night Football.’”
Andrew Liszewski
Watch Disney’s adorable droids waddle on its omnidirectional treadmill floor.
Disney Imagineering debuted its bipedal BD-X droids at its theme parks last year which can remain balanced even while autonomously walking over uneven terrain.
Their creators have been working to improve the droids’ movements and capabilities and are now teaching them to balance on terrain that’s dynamically changing beneath their feet using Disney’s equally innovative HoloTile treadmill floors.
Sean Hollister
In case you missed it over the long weekend: self-retracting lightsaber toy.
It’s the one that got away — from Star Wars toymaker Hasbro, that is! Hasbro acquired the rights and even patented it around the world, then abandoned it. It’s no “real Disney lightsaber,” but it’s the first to scratch the same self-retracting itch.
Richard Lawler
DirecTV loses ABC, Disney, and ESPN channels.
The start of this carriage dispute even nixed a US Open viewing session on a screen at New York’s Hudson Yards. While DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, and U-verse customers miss the services they pay for and Venu Sports remains on hiatus, both sides point fingers over the blackout.
...we will not enter into an agreement that undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs.
Disney is again taking an anti-consumer approach, demanding that customers from DirecTV and other TV distributors be forced to pay for channels they don’t watch...
Alex Cranz
I hope the next CEO of Disney is just Bob Iger with a fun mustache.
Disney just created a committee to find Iger’s replacement as he’s repeatedly said he doesn’t plan to stay CEO long. But he also said that before his last replacement, Bob Chapek, was terminated and Iger returned. So maybe it will be someone new! Or maybe it will just be Bob with a mustache.
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Lauren Feiner
Jay Peters
“Honey? Where’s my Fortnite suit?”
In addition to revealing a new Marvel-themed Fortnite season, Disney and Epic Games also announced at D23 that three Disney villains (Maleficent, Cruella de Vil and Captain Hook), three Incredibles characters (seemingly Mr. Incredible, Mrs. Incredible, and Frozone), and two Star Wars characters (IG-11 and Moff Gideon — and a new Grogu backbling) are coming to the game.
Disney invested $1.5 billion in Epic Games earlier this year.
Wes Davis
Disney Plus will get Simpsons exclusives.
While Fox will show most of it, Simpsons executive producers said at Disney’s D23 showcase that some episodes from the show’s 36th season will only show on Disney Plus, according to Variety.
The episodes include a Christmas one titled “O Come All Ye Faithful” on December 17th. The streamer will also get an exclusive Halloween-themed short in October.
Wes Davis
Here’s what’s underneath Disney’s HoloTile floor.
At its D23 showcase, Disney Imagineering showed off HoloTile, a very fancy floor that lets you move things on it or stay in place while you walk. It uses tilting, circular discs that spin in synchrony, moving the “floor” as you walk.
The middle video below shows what each of those pieces looks like.
Wes Davis
Deadpool & Wolverine is in the billion dollar club.
The world likes Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s team-up, which injected Deadpool into the MCU and brought Jackman’s Wolverine (and lots of other Marvel characters) along for the ride.
Deadpool & Wolverine has made $1.029 billion at the global box office, through today, putting it just a little behind 2019’s Joker as the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, according to Deadline.
Correction: Deadpool & Wolverine made $1.029 billion, not $1,029 billion.
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Fortnite’s next Marvel collab will be nothing less than fabulous.
During the Horizons: Disney Experiences panel at this year’s D23 event, Kevin Feige announced that Marvel’s next collab will, unsurprisingly, revolve around Doctor Doom. But the most promising thing about the event’s trailer is the number of X-Men (like Emma Frost) who popped up.
Wes Davis
Say, that looks familiar.
Pixar posted a short Toy Story 5 tease during D23 2024 last night that featured brief, wordless animations of the characters Woody, Buzz, and Jessie.
Some folks on social media realized the animations look a lot like those from a certain Apple Watch face. The video below, spotted by 9to5Mac, drives it home.