By Beth Deitchman

Today, investors and fans were given a first look at Disney+, the upcoming streaming service set to bring original and fan-favorite content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic (and more) directly to consumers. The Walt Disney Company’s 2019 Investor Day answered so many burning questions that we have about the service, but left us with one incredibly challenging question: Which of these amazing new movies and series will we stream first?!

Lucky for all of us, we have a little bit of time to ponder that dilemma. It was announced during Investor Day that Disney+ will launch in the U.S. on November 12, 2019. The service, which will be available to subscribers at just $6.99 a month, will offer fans of all ages a new way to experience the unparalleled content from across The Walt Disney Company’s iconic entertainment brands and will be available on connected TV and mobile devices.

Disney leaders, including Chairman and chief executive officer Bob Iger, were joined by top executives from Disney’s streaming services, including Hulu, ESPN+, Hotstar and Disney+, for today’s event, which also featured presentations from some of the creative executives behind Disney+’s impressive and extensive content slate. Jennifer Lee, chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios; Pete Docter, chief creative officer, Pixar Animation Studios; Kathleen Kennedy, president, Lucasfilm; Kevin Feige, president, Marvel Studios; Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Channels Worldwide; Sean Bailey, president, Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Productions; Courteney Monroe, president, National Geographic Global Television Networks; and Jon Favreau, executive producer and writer, The Mandalorian, provided a glimpse of what lies ahead on Disney+.

“Disney+ marks a bold step forward in an exciting new era for our company—one in which consumers will have a direct connection to the incredible array of creative content that is The Walt Disney Company’s hallmark. We are confident that the combination of our unrivaled storytelling, beloved brands, iconic franchises, and cutting-edge technology will make Disney+ a standout in the marketplace, and deliver significant value for consumers and shareholders alike,” Iger said.

More than 25 original series and 10 original films, documentaries, and specials by some of the industry’s most prolific and creative storytellers are planned for Disney+ in its first year alone. Here are just some of the titles announced today that we truly can’t wait to binge:

Marvel Studios:

• The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: Anthony Mackie returns as Falcon and Sebastian Stan reprises his role as Winter Soldier in the new live-action series.
• WandaVision: Another pair of Marvel Cinematic Universe favorites reprise their roles in the live-action series, which stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany as The Vision.
• Marvel’s What If…?: This animated series—the first from Marvel Studios—is inspired by the comic books of the same name. Each episode will explore a pivotal moment from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and turn it on its head, leading the audience into uncharted territory.

Walt Disney Animation Studios:

• Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2: Do you want to watch a documentary series? One that’s worth melting for? Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2 shines a light on the hard work and imagination that go into making one of the most highly anticipated Walt Disney Animation Studios features of all time.

Pixar Animation Studios:

• Our Emeryville friends went into their amazing toybox to create the new Toy Story-based projects Forky Asks a Question, an animated short series, and the short film Lamp Life.

National Geographic:

• The World According to Jeff Goldblum: The ever-entertaining actor pulls back the curtain on a seemingly familiar object to reveal a world of astonishing connections, fascinating science, and a whole lot of big ideas in this new documentary series.
• Magic of the Animal Kingdom: Journey to the Walt Disney World Resort in this documentary series, which takes viewers behind the scenes with the highly respected animal-care experts, veterinarians, and biologists at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Epcot’s SeaBase aquarium.

Disney Television Animation:

• The Phineas and Ferb Movie (working title): Many of the original voice cast return for this animated film based on the iconic Disney Channel series.

These new projects are, of course, on top of the series we’re already eagerly awaiting, including several projects set in the world of Star Wars—The Mandalorian, the world’s first scripted live-action Star Wars series; the exclusive new season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars; and the untitled Cassian Andor series starring Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk—as well as a return to East High in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series; the Marvel Studios series Loki, starring Tom Hiddleston as the God of Mischief; the animated series for families Monsters at Work, with Billy Crystal and John Goodman returning to voice Mike and Sulley; and Diary of a Female President.

We’ll also be popping barrels of popcorn while we watch the films Lady and the Tramp, Noelle, Togo, Timmy Failure, and Stargirl; and we’re excited to dive into nonfiction series announced earlier this week, such as Be Our Chef, with Angela Kinsey; Cinema Relics: Iconic Art of the Movies (working title), Earthkeepers (working title), Encore!, the untitled Walt Disney Imagineering documentary series, Marvel’s 616, Marvel’s Hero Project, (Re)Connect, Rogue Trip, and Shop Class (working title).

And d’oh—we can’t forget to share some truly excellent news! On day one, Disney+ will feature all 30 seasons of The Simpsons. In fact, there’ll be more than 7,500 television episodes and 500 films on Disney+—including blockbuster hits from 2019 and beyond—in the service’s first year alone, and classic titles from Fox, such as Malcolm in the Middle, The Princess Bride, and The Sound of Music, will also be as close as our nearest screen. Click here to discover the incredible collection of movies and series you’ll find on Disney+, which ranges from perennial Disney favorites such as The Sword in the Stone, Boy Meets World, and Up, to recent must-watch (or must-watch-again) titles such as Free Solo, Moana, and Captain Marvel.

This brings us back to our initial challenge: deciding what we’ll want to experience first. Disney+ has been designed with fans in mind. Subscribers will enjoy a wide variety of features—including immersive brand tiles and dedicated pages for Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic—and will find it easy to navigate and watch their favorite content (and discover new favorites!). Through custom profiles that you create, Disney+ will offer personalized experiences curated to subscribers’ unique tastes.

No matter where you access Disney+, which will be available on a wide range of mobile and connected devices, including gaming consoles, streaming media players, and smart TVs, the service will adjust to the best possible high-definition viewing experience based on a subscriber’s available bandwidth, with support for up to 4K HDR video playback. And even when they’re not connected, fans will be able to access an unprecedented amount of content to view offline.

Disney+ will be available in the U.S. this November and will expand rapidly across the globe—and is planned to be in nearly all major regions of the world within the next two years. D23 will continue to bring you updates as more details are revealed about the incredible content that will be streaming soon. Stay tuned to D23.com, and visit DisneyPlus.com to register your email and be kept up to date on the service.

Want more Disney+ news? Click here to stay up-to-date with what’s streaming!

By Beth Deitchman

Disney+, The Walt Disney Company’s upcoming streaming service, set to launch in the U.S. later this year, has just revealed an incredible slate of nonfiction programming, including Marvel 616 (working title), an anthological documentary series that explores the intersection between Marvel’s rich legacy of stories, characters, and creators and the world outside our window. The series comes from Supper Club, the independent production company founded by David Gelb (Chef’s Table, Jiro Dreams of Sushi), Brian McGinn (Chef’s Table, Amanda Knox), and Jason Sterman (13th, Five Came Back), who have entered into an exclusive deal to create premium franchise-based and original-concept nonfiction programming for Disney+, as well as other platforms and networks across the worlds of Disney.

Marvel 616, produced in partnership with Marvel New Media, marks Supper Club’s first original series for Disney+, and they’ve assembled a diverse group of filmmakers to take us on a deep dive into the rich historical, cultural, and societal context that has become increasing woven into stories of the Marvel Universe.

Supper Club will also produce Earthkeepers, a cinematic documentary series that centers on the adventurous lives of the people changing the way we see the animal kingdom. Each episode will spotlight conservationists and the animals they’ve devoted their career to studying, giving us a greater sense of the personal trials and professional breakthroughs that come with protecting the planet’s most endangered species.

The additional original nonfiction series announced today for Disney+ feature fan-favorite talent, exotic locations, inspiring stories—and plenty of Disney magic. Here are all of the series we can’t wait to stream:

Be Our Chef
Angela Kinsey (The Office) presides over this delicious new competition series, which gives families the chance to create the next great Disney Parks dish. Be Our Chef invites families from diverse backgrounds to join a positive and playful Disney-inspired cooking competition at Walt Disney World. In each episode, two families will participate in a themed challenge based on their family traditions and the magic of Disney. The finalists will apply what they have learned to create a dish that represents their family through a Disney lens. The winner’s magical food creation will become a signature dish or treat served at Walt Disney World.

Cinema Relics: Iconic Art of the Movies(working title)
This anthology series that takes a unique look at beloved films—including Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Mary Poppins, The Muppet Movie, Tron, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit—through the props and costumes (now modern ‘artifacts’) that made them unique. We’ll hear from the craftspeople who created them, the actors who interacted with them, and the collectors/archives who own and cherish them in the show, which will be hosted by film historian/collector Dan Lanigan.

Encore!
Our toes are already tapping over this series—executive produced by Kristen Bell (Frozen)—which brings together former castmates of a high school musical, tasking them with re-creating their original performance in a high school reunion like no other. Emotions run high as the former students face faded friendships, former flames, self-doubt, and killer choreography. Through it all, these unlikely groups of friends—with the help of Broadway’s best—just might pull off a standing-ovation-worthy performance of beloved musicals such as The Sound of Music, Beauty and the Beast,  Annie, and more.

Marvel’s Hero Project
Even in the Marvel Universe, not all heroes wear capes, and this new series (also produced in partnership with Marvel New Media) spotlights real-life heroes who are making remarkable, positive changes in their own communities. These inspiring kids have dedicated their lives to selfless acts of bravery and kindness, and now, Marvel celebrates them as the true Super Heroes they are.

(Re)Connect
Every episode of (Re)Connect focuses on one family with a modern-day, relatable issue that’s driving a wedge between them. Issues range from workaholic parents, overly competitive siblings, technology addiction, or a family secret that has recently been revealed. All of these families have reached a breaking point, and it’s time for them to disconnect from their busy lives, devices, and outside influences in order to address their issues head-on. With the help of a specialized expert, each family will go on a unique journey that organically ties to the issues they are facing in order to confront the family’s dilemma. Can they finally come together as a family to overcome their obstacles… and reconnect? Real-life husband and wife Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa are among the producers of this compelling new series.

Rogue Trip
Bob Woodruff and his 27-year-old son, Mack, take fans to all the places the average tourist wouldn’t typically visit—frequently overlooked (and even misunderstood) destinations whose hidden corners surprise, amaze, and inspire. It’s the family vacation most of us are unlikely to take—but now is our chance to venture to these amazing locales via Disney+.

Shop Class (working title)
Youthful ingenuity is on display in this new competition series that features teams of inventive students tasked with designing, building, and testing new contraptions to vie for the title of Shop Class Champs. In each episode, they’ll present their work to a panel of experts who will rate their projects based on engineering, design, and the final test of the build.

Untitled Walt Disney Imagineering Documentary Series
A Disney fan’s dream, this documentary series looks at the more than 65-year history of Walt Disney Imagineering through parallel storylines focused on the people, the craft, and the business. Oscar®- and Emmy®-nominated director and producer Leslie Iwerks is creator of the series that will feature exclusive interviews and never-before-seen footage from Disney parks around the globe.

Want more Disney+ news? Click here to stay up-to-date with what’s streaming!