Disney unveils the name of its Netflix competitor, plus new Marvel and Star Wars shows
Disney’s Netflix competitor finally has a name.
The long-awaited Disney video-streaming service will be known simply as Disney+. Company CEO Bob Iger unveiled the name during a Thursday earnings call. Iger also announced that the service will launch in the U.S. in late 2019.
Disney has been planning its video-streaming service since at least 2017 when the company said it was going to end its multi-year contract with Netflix and pull all of its content off the service. The reason for doing so was simple. Disney wants to move all of its properties -- including Disney classics, Pixar movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Star Wars films -- to its very own streaming platform.
In a press release following the Disney+ announcement, the company also released more information about some of the new content planned for the service.
Diego Luna will reprise his Star Wars role as Cassian Andor in a spinoff series that takes place before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. This will be the second Star Wars TV series on the Disney+ service following the announcement of Jon Favrou’s The Mandalorian series last month.
As for the Marvel, Disney confirmed a Loki series that was rumored last month. Tom Hiddleston will be returning to the MCU to play Loki on the Disney+ show. However, there’s no word yet on a Scarlet Witch series that was also previously discussed.
Other Disney properties mentioned in the press release that will receive new stories in the form of movies or TV shows include Disney Channel’s High School Musical and Pixar’s Monsters Inc.
We don’t yet know how much the Disney+ streaming service will cost, but you can now go to Disney+’s official website to sign up for future updates.
