A major problem currently being faced by Disney+ is its release dates for its MCU TV shows. Marvel Studios has a long list of original programming for Disney+, but its first show, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, doesn’t premiere until late 2020.
Disney’s brand new streaming service is the future of Marvel TV. So many Marvel shows have been cancelled in 2019, including Jessica Jones, The Punisher, Runaways, Cloak & Dagger, Ghost Rider (when it was still in pre-production), and the show that started it all, Agents of SHIELD. This allows Marvel and Disney to focus on producing content for a single platform, Disney+, and for the first time, Marvel’s shows will be closely intertwined with the MCU. Marvel’s upcoming shows will feature numerous MCU stars, such as Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye and Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch. So far, Marvel has eight MCU shows in the works.
Disney+’s original Marvel and Star Wars content are a huge part of its appeal, and a major driving force behind its millions of subscribers - and therein lies one of its biggest problems. Since its Marvel shows haven’t started yet, The Mandalorian is arguably its greatest draw. It’s earned a lot of attention and praise from both critics and fans across the board. It’s widely considered to be a solid installment in the Star Wars universe. But, The Mandalorian just concluded its first season, prompting a large number of people to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions. So the fact of the matter is, when it comes to original content, there isn’t a huge draw for subscribers now that The Mandalorian is over - and waiting for Marvel’s TV shows may not be in the cards.
This sadly reinforces the pre-existing idea held by many that Disney+ may not be worth having without The Mandalorian. However, this may not have been an issue if fans didn’t have to wait almost an entire year for the first Marvel show. Many of the same people who cancelled their subscriptions over The Mandalorian ending will likely re-subscribe once The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premieres, but there’s an awfully long gap between The Mandalorian season 1 finale and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Marvel has at least four of its shows releasing in 2021, so it’s reasonable to assume that once they start, Disney+ will keep them rolling, motivating fans to continuously renew their subscriptions, but the wait for that to happen is entirely too long. This could have been avoided if Marvel and Disney had accounted for this and made plans for one - or even better, two - of its shows to premiere prior to late 2020. Slotting a MCU show in early 2020 - right after The Mandalorian - and another in the summer would have been the perfect release schedule. If this was the case, fans would have had compelling reasons to maintain their subscriptions for most of the year.
More: Marvel’s Disney+ Shows Are Super Important To Captain Marvel 2
- Black Widow Release Date: 2021-07-09 The Eternals Release Date: 2021-11-05 Shang Chi Release Date: 2021-09-03 Doctor Strange 2 Release Date: 2022-05-06 Thor: Love and Thunder Release Date: 2022-07-08 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Release Date: 2022-11-11
