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If you’re a Disney+ subscriber or Disney bundle customer who has been enjoying Disney’s release of new Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, or Marvel content onto the streaming platform, then you may be disappointed by the plans that Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger is making!
According to the Hollywood Reporter, “after years of Marvel and Star Wars movies and shows inundating screens big and small, Disney is putting the brakes on the output of some of its biggest franchises and brands”.
This comes after Disney CEO Bob Iger made several controversial statements on February 8, including announcements about the company’s endeavors to move away from former Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s goals and Iger’s upcoming plan to lay off 7,000 employees from the company.
Bob Iger replaced Bob Chapek as the CEO of the Walt Disney Company. Credit: Disney
On February 8, Iger also said that Disney needed to improve the way that the company was “curating” the movies and shows in its franchises due to their “extraordinarily expensive” costs.
Iger added that Disney does “want the quality on the screen”, but since the Disney CEO is buckling down on cutting costs, it looks like the steady stream of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars movies or shows that had been overwhelming viewers on Disney+ are going to be grinding to a halt.
Hawkeye, Captain America, and Black Widow are played by Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson. Credit: Marvel
Marvel Studios leader Kevin Feige seemingly confirmed this when he told Entertainment Weekly that viewers will have to expect a slower “pace at which we’re putting out the Disney+ shows” in the future.
Former CEO Bob Chapek seemed to focus on a quantity-over-quality approach for Disney+, with many Marvel or Star Wars projects being released rapidly and subsequently facing middling reviews from viewers. Obi-Wan Kenobi was a particularly striking example of this lackluster situation.
Credit: Lucasfilm
According to the report from the Hollywood Reporter, Disney is not alone in adjusting and rebalancing its approach to streaming content; there is, instead, “an industrywide shift in rethinking the best way to achieve profitability in streaming.”
Star Wars fans might actually benefit from this change, however, since “Disney has ramped up its efforts to return the franchise to theaters”, but the Hollywood Reporter predicts that “under Iger’s directive, [Marvel franchises] could feel cuts the soonest.”
So if you love Jedis and Padawans, keep your ears perked for news about Star Wars theatrical releases; if you love Marvel movies, prepare for some rehashing of old Avengers movies or series like Hawkeye to tide you over!
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