While a tentative release window has been set – sometime in 2019 – intel regarding The Walt Disney Company’s direct-to-consumer streaming service couldn’t be seeping through any slower. Admittedly, though, the House of Mouse has picked up the pace as of late and today, we finally learned the name of this BAMTech-powered network.
According to a new report from Variety, the unnamed streaming service shall henceforth be known as “Disney Play.” Evidently, Chairman and CEO of the House of Mouse, Bob Iger, also deemed the launch of the network “the biggest priority of the company during calendar [year] 2019.”
For those of you who don’t know, the “Netflix-killing” Disney Play was the motivation behind the amalgamation between 21st Century Fox and the multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate – which is all but official – so the House of Mouse could proffer their extensive back catalogue alongside the debut of the network.
Additionally, throughout the last month or so, Disney announced that the Marvel Cinematic Universe films will be leaving Netflix in the foreseeable future and making their way onto the streaming service. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Star Wars series, as Iger confirmed earlier this month the IP’s “not going to be on there,” at least until 2024 when the contract between Disney and Turner Broadcasting – who holds the rights to televise Lucasfilm’s multi-billion dollar franchise – expires.
However, considering that the likes of Dumbo, Captain Marvel and Avengers 4 will be helping the streaming network get off to a strong start, not to mention Disney Play will be debuting its very own live-action Star Wars series from Jon Favreau, I don’t think it’ll suffer from the lack of Chewy and company too much.