Yes, you read the title right. Finally, a streaming service is listening to fans and is giving some of its projects the physical releases they deserve. As many shows and projects are seemingly getting cut for tax reasons, this is great news for those hoping to at least ensure they still have access to these shows no matter what happens to Disney+, Netflix, or whatever streaming service that is out there.
Disney already hinted at this move with the recent reveal they are releasing Prey, the Predator prequel film, for physical. Shortly after, they have now unveiled that the same is planned for some of their first big releases on the platform. The Mandalorian is finally getting a physical release for its first two seasons with some beautiful-looking artwork that’ll surely make collectors happy.
This time it’s for real, with a press release and everything:
Disney is releasing Loki Season 1 (9/26), WandaVision (11/28), and The Mandalorian Season 1 & 2 (both 12/12) on 4K and Blu-ray in Steelbook packaging.
And we also have the physical release of the Disney+ Marvel shows. Loki and WandaVision are the first batch to make their way online and into shelves later this year. It seems that it’ll only be available as a Steelbook packaging with 4K and Blu-ray being available. DVD sale seems very unlikely and it’s unclear if they might also offer some regular Blu-ray boxes later down the line. Though these steelbooks are definitely something one wouldn’t want to miss out on in their collection.
After stalling out as a theatrical franchise following a pair of less-than-well-received films, Rick Rirodan’s YA novel series, Percy Jackson & the Olympians, is being resurrected as a streaming series on Disney Plus and now fans can mark their calenders for the new show’s debut.
According to EW, the James Bobin-helmed series, which was originally expected to hit Disney Plus in 2024, will roll out a two-episode debut on December 20th. That date was previously set to be the release date of Lucasfilm’s Skeleton Crew and while there’s been no announcement, it seems unlikely that Disney would push both series out on the same date.
Percy Jackson & The Olympians tells the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson, who’s just coming to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. Now Percy must trek across America to find it and restore order to Olympus.
Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadr headline the new series which is expected to return for a second season with Jonathan E. Steinberg, who co-ran Season 1 with Dan Shotz, on board as showrunner.
While fans have been largely engaged in the big brand TV series produced by Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios for Disney Plus, they have long bemoaned the awkward release schedule that has seen them debut at 3:00 AM ET/12:00 AM PT. Now fans can cross another thing off of Bob Iger‘s to-do list after returning to Disney.
Disney’s next big streaming series, Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Ahsoka, will become the streaming service’s first major offering to debut during the traditional TV time period known as “prime time.” Originally set to debut on Wednesday, August 23rd at 3:00 AM ET/12:00 AM PT, the Rosario Dawson-led series will now roll out its two-episode debut on Tuesday, August 22nd at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM ET.
To be clear, it’s not just the premiere that will inhabit the prime time time slot as Disney is committing–at least with Ahsoka–to the 9:00 PM ET release. Fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones franchise can attest to the power of the late evening release which allowed for far more viewers to watch the newest episodes and be part of the “water cooler” conversation the next day. The awkward middle-of-the-night releases have often left everyone other than the hardest of hardcore fans on the outside looking in and avoiding social media as not to be spoiled until they could get home from work and catch up. On the surface, this looks like a no-lose scenario for Disney as they look to get their streaming poop in a group.
Within moments of its announcement at SDCC ’22, Daredevil: Born Again immediately became one of Marvel Studios most controversial projects. Though stars Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio had already reprised their roles from the Netflix Daredevil series, each actor seemed to have a different take on whether or not their characters were the same as those characters and with the series taking place during the Multiverse Saga, there are plenty of opportunities for them not to be. While D’Onofrio was pretty bullish on the idea that the Wilson Fisk seen in Hawkeye was the same guy from Netflix, Cox began to make people wonder after calling Born Again “a whole new deal” rather than a continuation of Daredevil, which ended after 3 seasons. Later, D’Onofrio’s tune changed a bit saying that the Disney Plus series is “definitely a new show” and “not the Netflix show.” When production on the series started, there were certainly plenty of set photos and rumors that really didn’t help clear up what Netflix fans should expect. However, with production now on hiatus due to the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes, now’s a great time to look at some of those rumors and see what’s real and what’s imaginary.
Foggy and Karen
Easily the biggest hot button for Netflix fans is the idea that Daredevil: Born Again will take place without two of Daredevil’s biggest supporting cast members. Rumor has it that neither Foggy Nelson nor Karen Page will appear in Born Again…and that rumor is mostly true. While there’s still plenty of time for reshoots and additional photography to change things, neither Nelson nor Page are set to have any significant screen time. In fact, their absence from the series is one of the opening arc’s most important plot points. It’s very possible that Elden Henson filmed some scenes as Foggy but as far as the first arc of the series goes, those scenes are likely to be flashbacks or used to explain why he’s not around.
A popular rumor as to why the two supporting characters wouldn’t be in the new Disney Plus series was that it would be set during the Blip. In sad but true news, that’s just not the case. While there are a lot of flashbacks in Daredevil: Born Again, the main portion of the series is not set during the Blip (the fact that the PymvanDyne Foundation is seen in set photos disproves that) and that’s not the reason Foggy and Karen aren’t around.
Jon Bernthal’s return as Frank Castle gave another boost of adrenaline to an already highly-anticipated series. However, the character’s return immediately became steeped in controversy when it was rumored that it would feature the character taking on–and taking out–a group of racist cops who have misappropriated his logo. It ain’t gonna be pretty, folks, but it is in the cards. Hopefully, it helps rectify the horrid scenario that unfolded in his last appearance where he massacred a group of teens right before a touching tribute to Stan Lee came on screen.
Matt’s Love Interests
Always a lady’s man, Matt Murdock has had several lovers in and out of his life over the years. With Karen Page out of the picture and no sign of Elektra, rumors have not one but two of Matt’s comic book flames set for Born Again in Heather Glenn and Kirsten McDuffie and we’ve heard the same. Margarita Levieva is set to play party girl Heather Glenn while Nikki M. James will portray Kirsten McDuffie. In the comics, McDuffie’s relationship with Matthew was a bit of a slow burn while Glenn’s was a bit more short-lived. That’s probably why James’ contract came with options while Levieva signed a one season deal.
With the series set to run for 18 episodes, there are plenty more rumors out there to sort through at a later date! Daredevil: Born Again is currently slated for a 2024 debut on Disney Plus.
In late 2022, Deadline broke the news that SNL alum Sasheer Zamata had joined the cast of the WandaVision spinoff, Agatha: Coven of Chaos. Once shrouded in secrecy, plot details of the upcoming Disney Plus streaming series started rolling out pretty steadily once Zamata’s co-star, Patti LuPone, broke Marvel Studios’ well-known vow of silence. Rumors about the project–both legit and bogus–have been commonplace since including one about the identity of Zamata’s character. Now, in an interview with Mashable, Zamata followed LuPone’s lead and confirmed which witch she’ll be playing in Agatha: Coven of Chaos.
According to Mashable, Zamata will be playing Jennifer Kale, a character with some interesting connections in the Marvel Comics. The daughter of the leader of an ancient cult, Kale has shared adventures with some of Marvel’s most heavy-hitting supernatural characters such as Doctor Strange, Ghost Riders Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch and recent MCU newbie, Man-Thing. Interestingly enough, she’s also been part of the Midnight Sons, a team that’s oft-rumored to be on its way to the MCU. However, according to Zamata, the MCU’s Kale might be a bit different than the one first introduced in the comics in 1972.
“I definitely did do as much [comic book] research as I could,” said Zamata, “but the way we formed this character is very different from what I think people expect.” As long-term fans of Marvel Studios projects know all-too-well, that could very well mean that the character is essentially an entirely original character who is simply borrowing a name from an established comic book character. Whatever the case, Zamata made it clear that the production took its witchiness seriously, calling her time on set “magical and ethereal.” “It brought that out of everyone on set,” explained the actress, saying “there were crystals and candles everywhere. We saged and cleansed the stage all the time. It was the perfect environment for me.“
Though Agatha: Coven of Chaos completed principal photography before the WGA and SAG strikes began, there’s still no firm release date for the project. While it’s expected to stream in 2024, it is believed that–like all MCU projects–it’ll need some additional photography and reshoots which won’t be able to be completed until the strikes come to an end. At this point, it seems like it’s now destined to be released at some point in the second half of 2024.
The next entry in Dave Filoni’s New Republic era of stories, Ahsoka, is now less than two weeks away from its Disney Plus premiere. The series, which will see star Rosario Dawson reprise the role of the former Jedi, will not only move the Mandoverse story ahead but also serve as a sequel toStar Wars Rebels. Ahsoka will feature the live-action debuts of Rebels characters Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn and could also pull off any number of surprises so needless to say, there’s a lot of story to tell. It looks like Lucasfilm is happy to give the story room to breathe as it’s not only an eight-episode series but also has a very generous runtime for its two-episode debut.
According to Cryptic4KQual, a Twitter account that has a well-established track record for reporting accurate runtimes of Disney Plus projects, the two-episode premiere will run for a total of 1 hour and 36 minutes including credits and just shy of 90 minutes without. Feature films such as Zombieland (87 minutes), Attack the Block (88 minutes) and Stand By Me (89 minutes) made 90 minutes feel like plenty of time to tell a compelling story and these two episodes are just the opening act for Ahsoka.
Following the two-episode debut, Ahsoka will continue to release on a weekly basis for the next six weeks with the final episode streaming on October 4th as Lucasfilm is sticking with Wednesdays for their Star Wars releases.
The series has already built some significant buzz and looks to be a pivotal chapter in the ongoing Mandoverse narrative.
Set after the fall of the Empire, Star Wars: Ahsoka follows the former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.
As the first of Marvel Studios’ streaming efforts, WandaVision blazed the Disney Plus trail for the MCU and that wasn’t always a good thing. Matt Shakman’s nine-episode series was a wonderful character study of Wanda Maximoff but week after week outrageous fan theories led to outraged fans. One such outrage came when the obvious villain of the series, Agatha Harkness, was revealed to be the actual villain of the series. Kathryn Hahn was wonderful in the role and is set to reprise it in an Agatha-centric series, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, which is tentatively slated to release in 2024. The series has been closely followed by the very same fans of WandaVision whose uproarious online behavior made early 2021 so memorable and the rumor mill around the sequel series has been churning for quite some time. Let’s look at the most popular rumors and see what’s what.
The Identity of Joe Locke’s Character
One of the most ridiculous controversies around Agatha: Coven of Chaos centers around the character being played by one of the series co-stars, Joe Locke. While semi-obscure comic book character Nicholas Scratch became one of the most popular characters in the history of Marvel Comics overnight as people were led astray in believing Locke was set to portrary the weird wizard, that’s simply not the case. Locke is set to play Billy Kaplan, as we’ve believed since October of last year. That’s not to say Scratch have an impact on the series but he’s certainly not played by Locke and isn’t even expected to appear.
While it’s great that Wiccan is finally going to appear in the MCU, Locke’s Kaplan isn’t going to be an exact translation from the comics. In fact, the path the people at Marvel have chosen to explain how Billy Maximoff becomes Billy Kaplan seems incredibly odd on paper and may end up ruffling more than a few feathers. Whatever the case, Locke’s your Wiccan and will be paired up with Agatha over the course of the series.
Salem’s Seven
Not too very long ago, a plot summary of Agatha: Coven of Chaos emerged which indicated that the witches of Salem’s seven were out for revenge. As explained here, it’s not too hard to figure out what these witches have been holding against Agatha for a few centuries. Agatha’s lust for power put her in a bad spot and she responded by…taking more power and killing 8 witches, including her mother. That leaves 7 other witches whose descendants will be coming for vengeance now that Agatha’s hiding spot has been revealed to the world thanks to The Hex.
Aubrey Plaza’s Character
As was recently revealed, Aubrey Plaza’s Rio and Agatha have a LONG history together that will be explored in the series. Were they married? Not married? I truly don’t know but whatever the case, the two WERE lovers and did have a son (told you Scratch had some part in all of this). In the comics, Agatha Harkness is over 20,000 years old and while these two haven’t known each other that long in the MCU, their time together can be measured in thousands of years. While Plaza’s character seems to be an original character, her identity as the Green Witch could have been influenced, in part, by James Robinson’s work with the Scarlet Witch for Marvel Comics. In 2015, Robinson introduced the Emerald Warlock to the witchy world of the comics and while Plaza’s character is certainly not him, the idea of different witches tied to different colors is certainly a theme in Agatha: Coven of Chaos.
Fans looking for a page-to-screen adaptation of Billy Kaplan’s origin story, The Children’s Crusade or James Robinson’sScarlet Witch series will be sorely disappointed with Agatha: Coven of Chaos as that’s just not what Marvel Studios does. Instead, buckle up for an original adaptation inspired by (parts of) those stories–and more–that while may be full of some weird choices has some very good performances and sets the stage for another project set in the same corner of the MCU…should it ever come to fruition given the absolute chaos in Hollywood and the climate around the TV side of things at Marvel Studios.
It looks like having a sequel season is paying off for Marvel Studios, as their recently released trailer for Loki’s second season is already breaking records. While reactions to Secret Invasion were a bit tepid, it seems that people are more than happy to revisit the story of their favorite trickster god trapped in a timeless office of the TVA. The Disney+ series debuted to 80M views with its first trailer.
It’s not too surprising given that the first season still remains Marvel Studios’ most-watched series on Disney+. Tom Hiddleston has always been a big draw for viewers and the series may remain one of their best so far. While reactions generally have been tepid, a big break between releases and a new movement to slow down their rollout may have given this series a bit more hope to grab people’s attention. The series was also received quite positively with a 90% positive reaction from fans sharing their love for the first season.
Marvel Studios has had a bit of an uphill battle online while still remaining a power player from a box office perspective. Viewership numbers are difficult to grasp and we have no idea how viewership numbers are considered a success for the streamer, but perhaps this second season will spark an interest to build up their series more than just dropping various single-season mini-series that are loosely connected to the movies with their own stories that add to the MCU mythos.
While the Loki trailer finally dropped teasing the second season, it isn’t the only other Disney+ series that is set to release later this year. Secret Invasion didn’t quite leave the internet ablaze as Andor did, Marvel Studios seems very intent on building up the latter half after a long hiatus before the last Disney+ series finally released. Echo will also mix things up with a binge drop, which might be a big test to see if that works better for Marvel Studios’ releases.
News has been sparse on the series, but it seems we got at least one little detail on who will compose the music for the series. Native American composer Mato Wayuhi, famous for his work on the iconic series Reservation Dogs, is seemingly set to compose the soundtrack for Maya Lopez’s upcoming spinoff series.
After first being introduced in Hawkeye, the character is going to have her own little story that’ll likely also set up the return of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil ahead of his own spinoff series that is currently on hold due to studios’ not paying their writers and actors. It’s a promising addition for the November release and also continues the trend of the series including a mainly Native American production.
Lando was among the first series showcased as Lucasfilm’s future for their Star Wars ventures on Disney+. Yet, the series has pretty much been missing in action ever since, and was long believed that it may have just been dropped at some point completely. Across the three years development cycle, Dear White People creator Justin Simien joined production only to leave it later to direct Haunted Mansion.
Now, it seems that the project is alive after all. Atlanta and Swarm writers, Donald Glover and his brother Stephen Glover have joined the production to revive the long-dormant project. This deal did happen before the writer’s strike and who knows if it’ll still remain given it’s now facing a delay before it even got started. As such, it also seems like we finally got the confirmation it’ll see Glover reprise his role from Solo: A Star Wars Story.
This series might be the only chance for them to continue the set-up from that film’s post-credit sequence that has long been dormant. Though, the strike keeps many of the current developments as a big question mark until the studios finally return to the table and give their talent the money they deserve for the work they invested. So, we’ll see what the future holds once a fair deal has been found.
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