Could we be watching Mickey Mouse on Apple TV soon?
In 1937, Walt Disney Pictures made history with the release of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, their groundbreaking inaugural full-length animated feature film. This momentous achievement revolutionized the animation industry and firmly established The Walt Disney Company as a pioneering storyteller renowned for unmatched craftsmanship. Throughout a century of innovation, Disney’s influence has expanded exponentially, giving rise to a diverse library of creations. From the inception of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) within Marvel Studios, to captivating sci-fi/space opera adventures from Star Wars and Lucasfilm, to the visionary Avatar film franchise helmed by James Cameron, and the groundbreaking world of 3D animation pioneered by Pixar Animation Studios, Disney’s far-reaching impact has even led to the creation of its own dedicated streaming service, Disney+ (Disney Plus).
But The Walt Disney Company’s influence goes beyond the creation of iconic characters like Mickey Mouse. It extends to a globally acclaimed portfolio of international Theme Parks, including the original Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, and the renowned Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, which encompasses the Magic Kingdom Park, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Additionally, the enchantment expands to destinations like the Disneyland Paris Resort, the Tokyo Disney Resort, the Shanghai Disney Resort, and the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, captivating visiting Guests from around the world.
After the internal Disney kerfuffle last year, when then-CEO Bob Chapek (himself Bob Iger’s successor) was ousted in favor of Bob Iger once again, the now-Disney head appears to be prepping the Company for some big changes.
While Chapek focused on the expansion of Disney’s media empire, through the significant building of their very own streaming service, Disney+, with a large slate of Disney+ Originals centered around Marvel Studios’ MCU and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars content, it seems that Iger is going to head in an almost opposite direction. With the mainline Star Wars movies on hiatus, and Kevin Feige significantly cutting back on Marvel Cinematic Universe outings (be it Marvel television or theatrical releases), Disney is looking at a rather different future.
Seeing as Hollywood is more or less on fire with the concurrent WGA (Writers Guild of America ) and SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) strikes, and reeling from some surprisingly poor box office performers like Disney’s recent Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) and Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC Studios outings The Flash (2023), it feels like the film and television industry is on the edge of a precipice. Perhaps in response to these trends, or maybe in spite of them, it also appears that Disney CEO Iger is setting the company (and industry) up for some even bigger changes.
