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 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 New York Times]
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.’”
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
But Disney’s live-action/CGI Lilo and Stitch feature will hit theaters next summer.
If Rachel Zegler’s live-action Snow White wasn’t so busy humming and whistling while she worked in the film’s new trailer, she might notice that Gal Gadot’s Evil Queen is clearly trying to poison her.
Even though Marvel’s Agatha All Along Disney Plus series is going to be something of a comedy, its latest trailer is big on witchy vibes that’ll be perfect for its September 18th two-episode premiere.
We knew Disney Plus’ new Star Wars: Skeleton Crew series (out December 3rd) would feature Jude Law as clever Force user, but the show’s first trailer is all about the kids getting into Goonies-style space mischief.
Disney chief creative officer and Frozen co-director Jennifer Lee took to the stage at this year’s D23 to announce that the Frozen 3 will debut some time in 2027, and be followed up by a subsequent film.
Pixar closed out its D23 presentation with some solid news: Incredibles 3 is in the works.
Look like modern electronics (read: tablets) are going to be the hot new toys in Toy Story 5, which now seems to be coming out in “Summer 2026.”
Though Pixar’s Elio was initially slated to debut next March, during its presentation at this year’s D23 expo, the studio announced that it will now hit theaters sometime in the summer.
After spending two films knocking around Riley’s waking mind, Disney is taking the Inside Out franchise in a new direction with Dream Productions. It’s a Disney Plus series (out next year) about how dreams are kinda sorta like movies.
Disney kicked off its big Entertainment Showcase at this year’s D23 with a new Moana 2 trailer that reveals more about how its titular wayfinder will set sail to reconnect the islands across Oceania.
A multiverse kinda feels like the last thing Star Wars needs right now, but the first trailer for Disney Plus’ LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy mini(fig)series actually makes its premise seem like the rare modern Luke Skywalker story that might liven up the franchise when it premieres on September 13th.
Visit the “Disney Horizons Live from D23” island in Fortnite (island code 7908-6413-2516) at 11:30PM ET on August 10th to catch the show. If you miss it live, the in-game island will be available until August 16th, where the presentation will be on a loop.
