Disney Plus is about to get new Star Wars content and it couldn't happen soon enough.
From its launch nearly three years ago, Disney Plus experienced a meteoric rise in subscribers (reaching approximately 164,2 million (opens in a new tab)) until last quarter, when the service suffered a staggering drop of nearly 3 million. subscribers (opens in a new tab). The cause? Maybe it's the skyrocketing subscription price which now sits at €10.99 per month / €7.99 per month / AU$11.99 or in the US you have to suffer with ads if you want to pay just €7.99 per month, a number which turns out to be considerably more expensive than the initial launch price of €4.99 per month.
It can also be the content. There hasn't been much new Marvel content lately, though that may change soon with the Secret Invasion series and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (after wrapping its theatrical release) hitting the streaming platform in the first half of this year. . It could also be the somewhat lackluster Star Wars lineup. Obi-Wan hasn't caused a stir and few applaud the third season of The Mandalorian.
The good news is that we now know of all-new content from the Star Wars franchise heading to Disney Plus starting in August.
At Star Wars Celebration Europe (opens in a new tab), which is currently taking place in the UK, the Lucas Films panel delivered the first trailer for their new series Ahsoka (a spin-off of The Mandolorian). Rosario Dawson returns as the titular Jedi in a live-action series scheduled to launch on Disney Plus in August.
For what it's worth, the series seems to be packed with Jedi warrior action.
In fact, the Disney Plus slate could be full of Star Wars content well into 2025.
Andor, a much more well-received series that traces the events leading up to Cassian Jeron Andor's involvement in the theft of the Death Star plans, revealed that filming for the second season is underway and that it is expected to the new season arrives in August 2024. .
The Acolyte is also slated for a 2024 release, which apparently features a Wookiee Jedi played by Joonas Suotamo, the same actor who played Chewbacca in Solo, The Rise of Skywalker, and The Last Jedi.
Star Wars Celebration also teased Jude Law's Skeleton Crew, but didn't offer a release date.
As it turns out, there are now at least three more live-action movies planned, all of which will eventually hit the streaming platform, including one featuring Daisy Ridley, reprising her role as Rey. This time, however, he will be 15 years older and will be training young Jedi Padawan.
While there's always the chance these release dates could change, the news is generally good for consumers trying to decide whether to stick with Disney Plus or ditch the streamer in favor of another platform with a richer content offering.
Obviously, if Ahsoka, for example, doesn't meet Andor's standards (or even the bar set with The Mandalorian's first season) and Secret Invasion is a dud, Disney Plus, whose price has more than doubled since launch , could see more subscribers leave. Or perhaps current premium subscribers will opt for Disney Plus Basic, the $7.99 retail option that Roku just added (opens in a new tab) to its streaming platform.
Either way, Disney's subscriber woes are part of a bigger streaming trend. A recent study by Park Associates (opens in a new tab) found that half of all over-the-top (OTT) subscribers switch services multiple times a year based on content.
In other words, having the right mix, the right number, and the best content at any given time is essential if a streamer hopes to succeed in what is obviously an entertainment arms race. After a good start, Disney Plus has clearly lagged behind, while Netflix has risen in the last six months (opens in a new tab) or so. No streamer can afford to slack off or cut back on their content investments, even as most of them are facing tougher economic times.
Even the giant Disney has been forced to lay off thousands of people (opens in a new tab), but it clearly doesn't want evidence of this belt-tightening reflected in the output of its various franchises. If that were the case, Disney Plus would soon see fewer new movies and TV shows and subscribers would start heading to releases.