Disney+ is dropping onto the streaming landscape this November, and for anyone who's been following the "streaming wars" in depth you'll know that Disney's huge catalogue is a game changer and a massive threat to Netflix's dominance, simply because of how many creative properties they possess.
Like almost everyone else out there, I'm planning to sign up to the steaming service in the fall and see how their lineup holds out: partly through excitement, the other half necessity. There will be a lot of older TV shows and films being streamed, along with some brand new ones—several of which have already been announced.
Here's the TV shows and movies I'm looking forward to on Disney+.
1. The Mandalorian
I've talked about my personal burnout with Star Wars before, but that doesn't mean I won't check out The Mandalorian: a brand new TV show set in the Star Wars universe starring Pedro Pascal. While I'm not overly excited about the main Star Wars canon, I'm a perpetual hound for anything related to The Knights of the Old Republic game franchise. The word "Mandalorian" immediately takes me back to that universe, as in the game the Mandalorians were a warrior race who went to-to-toe with the Jedi during the Mandalorian-Jedi War.
The show is scheduled to premier in 2019.
2. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Season 7)
One Star Wars property I am genuinely excited for is the return of Star Wars: The Clone Wars with Season 7, which is a continuation of a much-beloved TV show and one of the best Star Wars spin-offs of all time.
The Clone Wars was a marvel in animation when it first came out, and it expanded the Star Wars universe in ways that are still being felt throughout the fandom. The show has been living on Netflix for many years, but will be officially taken off the streaming service and moved to Disney+ just prior to the launch of the new service, according to Polygon.
3. Monsters At Work
Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University were some of my favorite Pixar films, so you can rest assured that I was thrilled to learn that there would be a new "Monsters universe" continuation coming to Disney+. Set six months after the end of the first film, Monsters At Work follows the monsters as they fulfill their new mission: bringing laughter to the children instead of scaring them. It's set to come out in 2020.
4. Muppets Live Another Day
I'm past the age—or so they tell me—where I should be really into muppets. And for the most part, this is true! I've moved on to more adult shows and different animatronic gadgets. But the "muppets" were a very fond childhood memory for me, so I was excited when I learned that there would be new a muppet movie scheduled for 2020, called Muppets Live Another Day, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Details on it are pretty scarce, but it's Disney's second attempt to revive the franchise after purchasing The Muppets Studio in 2004.
5. Short Films and Shows
Finally, there's a couple TV shorts coming to Disney+ that I'm really looking forward to. The first one—Forky Asks a Question—will be a series of ten animated spots set in the Toy Story universe centering around "Forky": a character who was introduced in Toy Story 4.
The second Pixar short I'm looking forward to is Lamp Life, also set in the Toy Story universe. This one will center on Woody's former flame, Bo Peep, and what she's been up to since she left the other toys.
Now all of these shows coming to Disney+ are definitely not going to stop me from tuning into Netflix on a nightly basis. And who knows: my interest in them might be ill-founded, and they might not pan out. But I am looking forward to their release, and I think the streaming service has a lot going for it.