In September 2017, Disney announced plans to create its own streaming video service — a platform created to challenge Netflix, Hulu, and similar high-end streamers. Just over a year later, that service was given a name, Disney Plus, and on April 11 Disney unveiled a first look at the service in all its Disney-fied glory, as well as information on pricing and a launch date of November 12, 2019. All for an expected $7 a month!
Disney Plus (also known as Disney+) is intended to compete with industry leader Netflix and the various other direct-to-consumer streaming video platforms currently in use and in development. It will also include some high-profile exclusive content and (eventually) every movie in Disney’s expansive library, including a number of previously hard-to-find animated features.
Disney also shared some other details including a road map for the service’s first year, which is set to include 25 original series (starting with titles like its new Star Wars series The Mandalorian), a whole slate of films from its vault (including classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Little Mermaid, and Pinocchio), and, in a surprise reveal, all 30 seasons of The Simpsons, fresh off the brand’s new acquisition of Fox properties.
Here what it will include:
Approximately 7,000 episodes of television series and 400 to 500 movies are expected to be available on the service when it launches, including some of the aforementioned shows and films. First and foremost among the content will be projects tied to Disney’s Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Disney-specific properties, with an overall family-friendly theme to the content.
Every single movie in the Disney catalog will eventually be available on the service, according to Disney CEO Bob Iger, dispensing with the so-called Disney “vault” that kept classic films locked away for extended periods.
The studio’s upcoming movie slate — which includes Frozen 2, Toy Story 4, Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker, and a live-action remake of The Lion King — will also have exclusive streaming availability on the service, with Captain Marvel becoming the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie not available on Netflix.
Disney Plus won’t just be a greatest-hits collection, though. There will be original content on the service, too.
Original Marvel shows planned for the service include series based on Hawkeye, Falcon and Winter Soldier, and Scarlet Witch and the Vision. A series following The Avengers villain Loki is also in the works, with the original MCU actors reprising their roles for the shows.
Another animated series called What If? will feature alternate-universe tales featuring MCU characters voiced by the live-action actors who portray them. The series will explore what would have happened if certain events in the MCU transpired differently.
Several original Star Wars projects are also in development along with a spin-off of Disney Channel’s High School Musical franchise, called High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, will be part of Disney Plus’ original live-action offerings.
Series or movies based on the following properties are also rumored to be in development:
- 3 Men and a Baby
- Don Quixote
- Father of the Bride
- Flora & Ulysses
- Lady and the Tramp
- Magic Camp
- Noelle
- The Paper Magician
- The Parent Trap
- The Sandlot
- Stargirl
- The Sword in the Stone
- Timmy Failure
- Togo
- Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
and these Unscripted Series:
In April, a report indicated that Disney Plus is developing 10 unscripted series for its streaming platform. They include the following projects.
Marvel’s 616
An anthological documentary series will explore Marvel’s legacy of stories, characters, and creators and the “historical, cultural and societal context that has become inseparable from stories of the Marvel Universe.”
Earthkeepers
The creators of Chef’s Table helm a cinematic documentary series following the people changing the way we see the animal kingdom, including conservationists and the animals they’ve devoted their career to studying.
Be Our Chef
Angela Kinsey of The Office hosts a Disney-inspired cooking competition that will ask contestants to create a dish that “represents their family through a Disney lens.”
Cinema Relics: Iconic Art of the Movies
An anthology series that explores the props and costumes that made films unique.
Encore!
The Good Place actress Kristen Bell serves as producer on this series, which brings together former castmates of a high school musical and tasks them with re-creating their original performance.
Marvel’s Hero Project
This series puts the spotlight on inspiring kids who have dedicated their lives to selfless acts of bravery and kindness.
(Re)Connect
A family that has reached their breaking point gets the help they need in this series that explores the issues driving families apart and the ways they can resolve those issues.
Rogue Trip
Bob Woodruff and his 27-year old doppelgänger son, Mack, host this travel guide to all the places the average tourist is least likely to venture.
Shop Class
A competition series featuring inventive students tasked with designing, building and testing new contraptions.
Untitled Walt Disney Imagineering documentary series
This show chronicles the history of Walt Disney Imagineering and the people, craft, and business behind Disney’s theme park magic.
Non-Disney content
Disney Plus will also feature some non-Disney owned content, including material from National Geographic, that it is in the process of acquiring through its purchase of 21st Century Fox’s magazine and affiliate TV businesses.