Disney is bringing the full weight of its massive content library to its own streaming service in 2019. New, original movies and series, as well as a library of existing content, will be available on Disney Plus. How will the service compare to Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime? Here’s what we know so far.
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 we recently got our 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.
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 won’t have as many movies or television shows as Netflix and its ilk, but Disney hopes to draw customers in with lots of high-profile exclusive content and nearly every movie in Disney’s expansive library, including a number of previously hard-to-find animated features and blockbuster hits like Star Wars and Avengers: Endgame.
Here’s everything we know about Disney Plus so far.
The studio’s upcoming movie slate — which includes Frozen 2, Toy Story 4, Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker, and the 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. The record-busting conclusion to Marvel’s Infinity Saga, Avengers: Endgame, won’t be available on Disney Plus at launch, but it will be there by December 11, according to Disney’s financial reports.
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. Compared to Disney Plus’ biggest competitor, Netflix, that’s not a lot. According to a study by research firm Ampere Analysis, Disney Plus’ television show totals only amount to 16% of what Netflix offers. Netflix’s movie library is also eight times bigger than Disney Plus’ launch lineup. In terms of sheer numbers, Disney Plus also falls short of Hulu, Amazon Prime, CBS All Access, and HBO Go.
What Disney Plus lacks in volume, however, it’s making up in quality: Disney Plus will be the exclusive home to some of the biggest and most popular movies, shows, and franchises around. 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.
Almost 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 one exception is Disney’s Song of the South, which Disney has more or less buried since the ’80s thanks to its racially insensitive content (a racist scene from the animated Dumbo will be removed for Disney Plus, too).
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.
