Disney+ does something in three months that Netflix took two years to accomplish
Disney blew a golden opportunity by not knowing what it had with The Mandalorian‘s Baby Yoda
After reporting its fiscal first-quarter earnings yesterday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said during a conference call that, “The launch of Disney+ has been enormously successful, exceeding even our greatest expectations.” Iger also noted that 65% of Disney+ viewers who watched The Mandalorian also viewed 10 other movies or shows on the platform. And speaking of other shows, during the Super Bowl Disney+ teased its upcoming Marvel-based series including the Captain America spinoff “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” set to debut in August.
There have been a couple of setbacks for Disney+. The eagerly awaited Lizzie McGuire reboot with Hilary Duff starring in the titular role has been on hiatus even before a single episode was streamed. That’s because after filming two episodes, showrunner Terri Minsky (who also created the show) quit. A Disney spokesman (no, not Donald Duck) said, “Fans have a sentimental attachment to Lizzie McGuire and high expectations for a new series. After filming two episodes, we concluded that we need to move in a different creative direction and are putting a new lens on the show.”
A similar issue occurred with another highly anticipated series that will see Ewan McGregor reprise his big-screen role as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Both Disney+ and Disney-owned Lucasfilm rejected the only two scripts that were finished. Despite this setback, Disney must believe that the force is with it since it is not changing the previous premiere date for the series. However, there is talk that the season will consist of only four episodes instead of the original six.
Disney+, unlike most products and services with the Disney name, is actually a bargain. Priced at $6.99 per month, subscribers can register seven different user profiles on one account, view content on four different devices simultaneously and view shows and movies in 4K. To have the same features on Netflix, one would have to shell out $14.99 a month.