One of Hollywood’s biggest studios is pulling its physical media presence out of an international market entirely. Australians hoping to get their hands on Disney releases on either DVDs or Blu-rays will soon be out of luck. According to 7NEWS Australia, the House of Mouse is stopping its physical media presence in the Land Down Under after copies of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hit stores.
After Guardians hits stores in August, no further releases from Disney-owned studios will be available for purchase in the country, which insiders suggest is because of rapidly dwindling sales numbers.
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Why is Disney removing movies from Disney+?
As physical media inches ever closer to eternal obscurity, streamers are also making it more difficult for fans to watch productions on streaming. Most recently, the likes of Disney+ and Max have started removing films and shows for a variety of reasons. In one case, Disney+ removed the first season of Lucasfilm’s Willow follow-up and given the show was exclusive to the streamer, it’s impossible to watch it in any form unless Disney eventually opts to reverse course.
“I’ve been quiet on this news thatย Willowย is leaving [Disney+] ’cause… I’m kinda into it. I grew up at a time when [Disney] movies were periodically re-released and not available to own, and it made them… more special. I worry about many things…but NONE of them are thatย Willowย will never be available again, either on [Disney+] or perhaps… someplace else, & ya never know where that could lead… stranger things have happened,” Willow writer Jonathan Kasdan previouslyย onย Twitter. “So grateful for all the love and enthusiasm; it’s truly what keeps these worlds alive.”
Kasdan’s tweets came weeks after the writer expressed hope the cast and crew would be able to reunited on a second season at some point in the future.
“A decision was made last week to release our main cast for other series opportunities that may arise for them in the coming year,” Kasdanย explained in a statement at the time. “With all the TV and movies in production around the world, it feels unfair to limit an actor’s availability without a clear sense of when you’re going to need them again. It’s further triviliased by the simple reality that the scripts we’ve been working on require just as many actors with whom no such contractual hold exists.” ย
He added, “But here’s what’s equally true: with the enthusiastic and unwavering support of Lucasfilm, and Disney, we’ve developed and written what we hope is a brain-meltingly fun, richer, darker, and better VOLUME II, which builds on the characters and story of our first eight chapters (The Wyrm survives!)”
