In November 2019, The Walt Disney Company launched its very own streaming service, Disney+. While initially seeing some success — especially when the pandemic hit and most of the world was forced indoors — Disney+ has become quite the headache for the Mouse House. In just four short years, Disney+ has lost the once-untouchable company nearly $11 billion.
Related: Disney Quietly Removes Popular Streaming Feature
When Bob Iger stepped back into the CEO role in November 2022, one of his goals was to cut down on the losses that Disney+ was seeing. He did that in several ways, including cutting the budget of nearly every show on the streamer. There were also a number of Disney+ original series that were canceled — including Doogie Kamealoha MD, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, Willow, National Treasure: Edge of History, and The Mysterious Benedict Society.
There were also two shows that were filmed, but canceled before they ever had the chance to air — The Spiderwick Chronicles and Nautilus, which is based on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Now, we have learned that Disney has quietly delayed a series that was set to premiere next month. According to TheWrap, Disney has delayed Pixar Animation Studios’ new series, Win or Lose, until 2024.
The series, created by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, focuses on a co-ed middle school softball team called the Pickles and the events leading up to their big championship game. Each episode focuses on a different player or parent and sees what the world is like through their eyes. Will Forte, Rosa Salazar and Milan Ray are among the voice cast. The series will consist of eight episodes.
Win or Lose was first announced during Disney’s Investor Day in 2020. We do not know why Disney decided to delay the series, especially since it had such a positive reception when the first episode was shown at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Earlier Friday at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, before a screening of their new feature “Elemental,” Pixar unveiled an episode of “Win or Lose,” the first long-form streaming series from the legendary animation studio that’s set to debut on Disney+ this December. And the episode did much to ease fears that Pixar has somehow lost its touch; it is easily one of the most artful, exciting and emotionally incisive things the studio has done. And the wait for more episodes just became downright excruciating.
Related: Pixar “On Life Support” After String of Failures
Pixar has had its fair share of struggles recently, with its biggest loss coming from Lightyear, which was released in June 2022. From the beginning, the film faced a lot of harsh criticism when Disney announced that Chris Evans and not Tim Allen would be voicing the titular Space Ranger. The film bombed at the box office and lost Disney and Pixar more than $100 million.
Related: Prolific Pixar Producer Explains What Went Wrong With Lightyear
It is possible that Disney decided to delay Win or Lose and release it when the studio was supposed to release Elio — a story about a young boy who is kidnapped by aliens in a case of mistaken identity. Elio was supposed to be released on March 1, 2024, but is now scheduled to not come out until June 13, 2025.
Elio was not the only major delay announced by Disney. The studio also revealed that it was delaying the release of its highly controversial live-action remake, Snow White. Disney has been dealing with a lot of controversy surrounding Snow White since it was announced that West Side Story actress Rachel Zegler was announced as the lead. Instead of being released on March 22, 2024, Snow White will now be released on March 21, 2025.
What Disney+ series do you miss the most? Let us know in the comments!
