Earlier this week, Disney‘s Bob Iger made it very clear that the mouse house’s developing streaming service was going to lean brand heavy, though not necessarily content heavy. “[Disney] will not necessarily go in the volume direction that Netflix has gone,” he explained. “That’s not to suggest that we’re going to be low. But when you go to market with ‘Star Wars,’ Marvel, Disney … Using well-known IP — we’re making series based on ‘Monsters,’ ‘High School Musical,’ ‘Star Wars’ — will give us the ability to probably spend less than if we’d come to market without these brands.”
Well, they’re following that plan exactly as Deadline has unveiled some of the details about the first wave of titles that will be available when DisFlix (or whatever its called) launches in 2019. On the episodic side, there will be a TV series based around “High School Musical,” an animated “Monsters Inc” series, a live action Marvel series and a ‘Star Wars” branded title.
Meanwhile, there will be feature films too with “Magic Camp” starring Gillian Jacobs and Adam DeVine, “Noelle” starring Anna Kendrick expected to hit the service. There are a number of feature projects in development as well, including the live action “Sword In The Stone” and “Lady And The Tramp.”
As always, it’s the details that are most fascinating. For the moment, the DisFlix (or insert name) will only launch in the U.S., which likely means they’ll keep their relationship with Netflix in international territories for now. Speaking of which, the current Marvel series on Netflix will stay there (all Marvel shows on other networks will stay where they are too). Moreover — and this shouldn’t be a shock — there will be no R-rated material on Disney’s platform; anything that skews for adults will go on Hulu.
Don’t expect Disney to overspend either. The budget for their TV shows will be slim, running $25 million to $35 million for ten episodes, with the rare ambitious project capping $100 million.
Basically, it sounds like they’re gonna figuring out their footing stateside first, before conquering the globe. A smart approach by a studio that, at least recently, hasn’t made a wrong footed move.