After what feels like an eternity in the dark, we have a date: Disney+ will officially drop in the UK on March 31, 2020.
The new, massive entry in the streaming thunderdome is coming to the US next week on November 12, with Star Wars fans fizzing at the mouth ready to dive into new series The Mandalorian.
However, the UK has long remained out of the loop, fed a mere 2020 release date for quite sometime. Alas, mercifully we finally know – now we just need to wait until March.
Check out the Disney+ announcement video for the UK (and more) below:
Coming from their official account, the announcement does include one wary detail: ‘Please note: Titles may vary by territory.’
This links in to why it’s taking so long for us across the pond to get our hands on it – contracts. Because several Disney properties are still locked in with other distributors, we need to wait until they run their course.
As per Wired, Simon Brew, editor of Film Stories magazine, explained:
It’s a temporary problem, and not unique to the UK… 20th Century Fox has pre-existing deals with broadcasters and streamers, signed before Disney took it over.
And Disney itself had long and rich contracts with the likes of Sky. Ideally, Disney would have liked to have bought Sky too, but it was effectively gazumped by Comcast.
It’ll be worth the wait, though – you need only look at the trailer for The Mandalorian to see the sort of calibre we should expect.
Ewan McGregor is also confirmed to be making a return as Obi-Wan Kenobi for his very own Disney+ series, taking place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
Disney+ is set to offer every film the company has ever made, so you can bet on their selection of animated classics, from Snow White to Lilo & Stitch to Frozen, as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s offerings in full – including Avengers: Endgame.
Marvel are also dropping a bomb of exciting content. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, What If?, Hawkeye, Ms Marvel, Moon Knight and She-Hulk are all coming to Disney+ too.
Disney+ launches in Canada, the Netherlands, and the US on November 12, and in Australia and New Zealand on November 19. UK viewers have to wait until March 31, 2020.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.