Disney will reportedly debut a first look at its Disney+ streaming service in April — and fans are already wondering if that means they will get an early look at The Mandalorian, Jon Favreau’s Star Wars TV show.
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According to Variety‘s New York Digital Editor Todd Spangler, the first look at Disney+ will come at an investors day on April 11.
That date coincides with the start of Lucasfilm’s annual Star Wars Celebration event, where fans had already hoped they might get a first look at new content. The fact that the two events overlap makes it seem like a done deal that some of the content that will be shown off at the Disney event will be Mandalorian footage that they can also provide to Star Wars fans.
In addition to The Mandalorian, Disney+ will feature original content including a live-action Lady and the Tramp film and several TV series set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and featuring actors from the popular movies.
It is unlikely that any of the Marvel content will be previewed, since it is not yet in production.
CEO Bob Iger called the launch of the streaming service “the biggest priority of the company during calendar [year] 2019.”
The “Netflix-killing” Disney Play aims to tap into the same direct-to-consumer streaming video business model refined by current streaming giant Netflix, a motivation that was at the heart of the multi-billion dollar bidding war between Disney and Comcast over who would lay claim to 21st Century Fox’s expansive library of diverse content. Those spoils eventually went to Disney, who won with a $71.3 billion buyout.
In no longer providing their content to Netflix and instead reserving their biggest blockbusters for streaming on their own platform, Disney will miss out on the roughly $300 million in annual revenue it currently earns from Netflix and pay-TV rights. Disney, who has long streamed blockbusters like Captain America: Civil War and Rogue One on Netflix, will end that process with Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Captain Marvel, out in theaters this March, will be the first Marvel Studios production to be offered exclusively through Disney Play, where other Disney projects poised to be box office heavyweight hits in 2019 — Toy Story 4, Frozen 2, and live-action re-imaginings of The Lion King, Aladdin and Dumbo — will act as key selling points for the Disney service.
The exact launch date for the service has yet to be announced, although it would not be surprising if that detail was also made available in April.
