Disney is greatly expanding its direct-to-streaming releases, planning 10 Marvel and 10 Star Wars projects on Disney+ and Hulu “over the next few years,” the company announced on Thursday. The announcement came as part of a presentation to Disney investors, where the media conglomerate also announced that Disney+ has surpassed 86 million subscribers since its November 2019 launch and would raise its price to $7.99 per month. The names of dozens of new titles followed, including offshoots of The Mandalorian, several original live action movies, the renewal of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia for four seasons and The Handmaid’s Tale for two, live action reboots of Pinocchio and Peter Pan, sequels to Hocus Pocus and Sister Act, and multiple adaptations of hit books like Y: The Last Man and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The direct-to-streaming news is another blow to the movie theater industry; last week, Warner Bros. announced it would release all 17 movies in its 2021 slate on the HBO Max streaming service the same day as their theatrical debuts. Disney also announced an international streaming system, Star, that will roll out next year outside of the United States.
