Disney now says its "entire" film library will eventually be on its streaming service

By Sam Barsanti | March 7, 2019 | 10:08pm

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Last summer, before we really knew the extent of what Disney was planning with its then-unnamed streaming service, Disney CEO Bob Iger tried to keep investors’ expectations in check by noting that the studio wanted to “walk before we run” in terms of how much content would be dumped onto the platform. He said that at the time was that Disney planned to have a “lower volume” of content at launch that would be reflected in a reasonably low price. Since then, though, we’ve learned that Disney+—as it is now named—will not only get a big-time Star Wars show in The Mandalorian but also a bunch of MCU spin-off shows featuring big-name MCU characters. With those announcements, hype for Disney+ has begun to pick up, and right on time, Iger is now going back on those “walk before we run” comments.

At a shareholder meeting today in St. Louis (via Vulture), Iger teased that the famous Disney “vault,” where out-of-print movies are kept until there’s a new video format for them to be released on, will eventually find its way to Disney+. And, if Iger’s comments are meant to be believed, he’s not just talking about the biggest and best Disney movies. “At some point fairly soon after launch,” Iger said, “[Disney+] will house the entire Disney motion picture library.” That might not seem particularly shocking, but the Disney motion picture library includes a little film called Song Of The South that has never been released on home video in the United States, and while it would be easy for Disney to have every movie except that one, that would mean it doesn’t have the “entire” library. As for new movies, Iger specifically noted that stuff like Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars: Episode IX will be on Disney+ “within a year” of their release.