What you need to know about the new Disney+ streaming service

The Walt Disney Company has been planning to get into the direct-to-consumer streaming service for a few years, and yesterday, Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger revealed the service’s name: Disney+.

Here’s a quick rundown of what is known about the new service.

What is Disney+?

This is the exclusive Disney streaming service app. Think of it as Disney-only Netflix, or Disney-only Hulu. This new app will offer Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic original content as well as access to the vast libraries of film and television content from each of these brands. This will also include new theatrical releases starting with a 2019 slate of movies.

When will Disney+ launch?

Iger said Disney+ will launch in the second half of 2019.  Iger told investors during Disney’s fourth quarter 2018 earnings call that he visited the developer’s company, BamTech last week “and saw an early prototype of the app which will feature elegant navigation, personalization and content.”

What type of Disney and Pixar content will be on Disney+?

In addition to the film and TV library, Disney is planning a lot of original content, including:

• A new series based on Disney Channel’s High School Musical.
• An animated series based on Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. franchise.
• A movie called “Noelle” starring Anna Kendrick as Santa’s daughter.
• A live-action version of Lady and the Tramp.
• A movie called  “Togo,” about a famous and dangerous sled-dog relay, starring three-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe.
• A documentary series giving an “exclusive unprecedented look at Walt Disney Imagineering, featuring stories we’ve never really told before and images we’ve never shared,” according to Iger.
• A movie called “Timmy Failure,”  based on a book series, which follows an 11-year-old boy who believes he is the best detective in town and runs the agency Total Failure Inc. with his partner, an imaginary 1,200-pound polar bear, and his sidekick Rollo Tookus.
• Turning the movie “High Fidelity” into a series starring Zoë Kravitz in the lead.

What type of Star Wars content will be on Disney+?

• A  live-action Star Wars series, a prequel to Rogue One, starring Diego Luna. The series will follow the adventures of Rebel spy Cassian Andor during the formative years of the Rebellion and prior to the events of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”  The rousing spy thriller will explore tales filled with espionage and daring missions. Luna will reprise the role of Andor, which he originated in the 2016 film. “Going back to the Star Wars universe is very special for me,” Luna said. “I have so many memories of the great work we did together and the relationships I made throughout the journey. We have a fantastic adventure ahead of us, and this new exciting format will give us the chance to explore this character more deeply.”
• Disney has already announced that “The Mandalorian,”  the world’s first live-action Star Wars series, written and produced by Jon Favreau is currently in production. The series is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. It follows a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.
• A new season of the animated series “The Clone Wars.”

What type of Marvel content will be on Disney+?

Iger officially announced a live-action Marvel series about Loki starring Tom Hiddleston.

Other series that are rumored to be in development include:

• A live-action series teaming up Falcon and Winter Soldier.
• A limited series featuring Scarlet Witch.
• An untitled Marvel Series.

Can I still watch Disney, Marvel movies on Netflix, HBO and other places?

By the end of this year, Disney movies will be gone from Netflix, with the exception of the original Disney Marvel series, including the Avengers. Disney still has some distribution deals that will last a few more years, so you will still see movies released in 2018 and a few other films on other services and not on the Disney+ for a while.

How much will Disney+ cost?

The cost has not yet been determined. Iger has previously said that the plan is to “price this substantially below where Netflix is. That is in part reflective of the fact that it will have substantially less volume.”

What’s next?

In April, Disney is planning on having an investor meeting in which it will show off the app, and talk more about programming and pricing strategies.