Entertainment giant Disney has unveiled plans for a major expansion of its Star Wars and Marvel franchises on its Disney+ subscription streaming service, with dozens of new announcements today.
Photo: Disney
As an investor presentation today, Disney said that it planned to offer 10 new TV series in both its Marvel and Star Wars franchises over the next few years.
These include new series of Disney+'s biggest hit, The Mandalorian. Andor, starring Diego Luna as the character he played in 2016's Rogue One film, was also announced. More Star Wars animated series, The Bad Batch and A Droid Story are also in the works, along with Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka, two new original series set within the timeline of The Mandalorian.
Disney said Hayden Christensen will return as Darth Vader, joining Ewan McGregor in an Obi-Wan Kenobi series, and there will also be a new series starring the Lando Calrissian character.
Disney also revealed plans for several new original series in the Marvel universe, including Ms Marvel, with Iman Vellani as 21st century hero Kamala Khan; Secret Invasion, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn; Ironheart and Armour Wars, two Iron Man spin-offs; a Hawkeye series featuring Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld; She-Hulk with Tatiana Maslany and Mark Ruffalo; and the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, due in 2022 from writer/director James Gunn.
New trailers for the upcoming Loki, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision and the animated What If? series were also premiered during the presentation:
On the movie front, Marvel confirmed that Peyton Reed will direct Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, with Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer all returning, while Jon Watts will direct the latest attempt at the Fantastic Four and Brie Larson will return as Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel 2, directed by Nia DaCosta.
Another 15 live-action Disney Animation and Pixar shows and 15 Disney Animation and Pixar feature films will be available on the streaming service.
Executives said that customers should expect something new every week.
The company said that its upcoming films Peter Pan & Wendy and Tom Hank's Pinocchio will be launched directly onto Disney+, skipping theatres. There will also be a series based on 80s fanatsy filM Willow, starring Warwick Davies
Disney is the latest major studio to divert its focus from cinema to streaming.
Last week Warner Brothers said all its 2021 releases would debut on HBO Max.
The coronavirus crisis has hit the film and entertainment industry hard, and cinemas are desperate for content to lure viewers back with new entertainment that can initially only be seen on their screens.
But content producers want to cater to audiences who may not be ready to go back to cinemas.
Disney+, which was launched just over a year ago, now has 86.8 million subscribers - a figure far exceeding its own predictions for customer growth.
Together with its Hulu and ESPN sports streaming services the company has about 137 million subscribers in total.
Disney+ is still well behind Netflix, which boasts nearly 200 million subscribers worldwide.
But the number of subscribers it has amassed, in such a short period of time, will have more established streaming services looking over their shoulders.
Disney shares rose during its annual investor presentation.
- BBC