By Disney and Netflix are the undeniable behemoths in entertainment. The billions of dollars each company is worth in their media properties alone is hard to visualize the number is so big, and they keep growing bigger. Disney is eating other huge companies while Netflix probably plans to debut 100,000 new original shows in 2020. But as we all knew, these giants would eventually butt heads with the force of an atom bomb, and while Disney’s own streaming service was announced in 2017, the first stone has been cast. After the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp, no Marvel movies will appear on Netflix. Sorry Captain Marvel fans, you just missed the cut.
This, in addition to rumors of Disney attempting to buy back Star Wars’ universe broadcasting rights (they’ve been less successful on that front so far) tells us that Disney is no longer content reaping the benefits of insanely lucrative licensing deals. Nope, they want to be producer, distributor, broadcaster and your mother (probably). Now it’s not all doom and gloom for us plebeians that can’t afford 16 different streaming services; Netflix Marvel TV shows are staying put, and R-rated movies won’t appear on Disney’s platform either. But all of the Marvel movies and all of Disney’s animated films will end up on their service and their service alone.
Honestly, this could go 2 ways in my mind: Disney and Netflix start a full out media war with their vast empires of shows and back catalogues, or Disney’s streaming service is way too late to the game and dies out within a year. Taking the Marvel movies away from Netflix is a huge change for both companies, but it was more than obvious it would happen once Disney caught wind of the massive money pie that is streaming. We’ve been aware of this impending collision, but we’re ants being taken for a ride and Disney won’t even give us any of Paul Rudd’s cool gadgets.