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New Star Wars movies, new Star Wars shows, new Marvel movies, new Marvel shows, new Pixar movies, new Pixar shows, new live-action Disney movies, new live-action Disney shows — when one company owns some of the biggest properties on the planet, a giant industry call can shake up a lot of blockbuster culture.
On Thursday afternoon, The Walt Disney Co. will stream its 2020 Investor Day, which anyone with an interest in the future of the media conglomerate can tune into. The event, per Disney, will focus mainly on the company’s direct-to-consumer streaming services, which include Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus. The call is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. EST/1:30 p.m. PST at this link and last approximately four hours.
While Bob Chapek, Disney’s chief executive, will devote a large chunk of time to relaying to stockholders how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the company’s entertainment and parks businesses, media reports suggest that there may be a Comic-Con/D23-esque tone to the Disney Plus portion of the call. In the aftermath of WarnerMedia announcing plans to simultaneously release its 2021 Warner Bros. Pictures slate both in theaters and on HBO Max, many are looking to see how Disney will either follow or depart, and continue to terraform the entertainment landscape as we know it.
Could Black Widow head to Disney Plus? Will Disney’s new live-action films, like Cruella and Pinocchio, wind up as straight-to-streaming releases? Can the company stick to its theatrical model by doubling down on Star Wars TV with an Obi-Wan miniseries and and a Boba Fett Mandalorian spinoff? Is 2021 going to be the year of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the small screen with WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and Hawkeye? And how does the international Hulu alternative, rumored to be called Disney Star, play into the company’s future strategy?
By the end of the call, we should have a clear idea of Disney’s plan to adjust to the post-pandemic new world order, and buy time before vaccinations open states up and bring people back to the movies.
