Disney Capitulates To The Far-Right Mob

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Dl7y2V9j1pbTGWbAODlUz?si=wbHjHQAYQd6e8UmC8ZDctg

One of the topics we cover a lot both on this website and on the various podcasts is that Disney's progressive shift has always been largely performative. Any moment of progress is done in a way that can be quickly edited out for international markets (think the kiss between two female Resistance pilots in Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker which is on screen for literally half the time as another celebration shot of some random CGI alien) and these moments end up shouldering the blame when movies under-perform. This year's Super Bowl ads that Disney ran show that the mask has come fully off and they fully intend to wipe the slate clean as they try to regain ground with a phantom audience.

Looking at Disney's 2025 slate, they are probably the studio primed for the most success this year. They have three Marvel Studios releases (Captain America: Brave New World, The Thunderbolts*, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps), new Avatar and Predator movies, two animated features (Elio from Pixar and Zootopia 2 from Disney Animation), and two live-action remakes (Snow White and Lilo and Stitch). On the Disney+ side (strictly of things that haven't come out yet) they have Daredevil: Born Again, Win or Lose, Eyes of Wakanda, Ironheart, season two of Andor, Marvel Zombies, and Wonder Man. I'm probably forgetting something but let's just go with this list.

For starters, most of the ads for movies came before the game itself so the only movies that were actually advertised between kick-off and the end of regulation were Universal's live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon, The Thunderbolts*, and Lilo and Stitch. The only streaming service (besides Fox's ridiculous propaganda arm Fox Nation) to buy a spot was Disney+.

This is where things get weird: with this slate and the release dates being what they are, there is a, shall we say questionable selection of movies and properties to advertise during this showcase. Lilo and Stitch is opening in May, as is The Thunderbolts*. Now I get that with Brave New World opening Friday it probably doesn't make sense to use a Super Bowl ad to try and sell that movie, but when you advertise The Thunderbolts* and only focus on Bucky, Yelena, Red Guardian, and USAgent while omitting two members of the team, it paints a weird picture.

The decision to promote Lilo and Stitch when Snow White is about six weeks away is also a little weird, especially when the former hasn't had a substantive trailer yet. We've seen two teasers but nothing even from the movie itself. The lack of attention for Snow White clearly comes from the fact that the movie has been the subject of a years-long smear campaign and Disney's desire to just dump it out and be done with it.

The Disney+ ad is the most egregious of these because it does nothing to sell Disney+. Let's be real for a second, if someone doesn't know that Star Wars or The Avengers is on Disney+, they don't care and this ad illustrating that is not going to make them subscribe. The same goes for Only Murders in the Building or The Bear; clips out of context of these shows aren't going to sell someone on Disney+. Both those shows are expected to have new seasons this year but exact release windows are unconfirmed. We do know that season two of Andor is coming in April. We do know that Win or Lose, the first series produced by Pixar, is coming next week. We do know that Ironheart is coming in June. None of that was mentioned.

Taken with the complete scope of things, Disney did have a great opportunity to run away with things and be the second most talked about portion of the game (distantly second behind the halftime show). The Disney+ ad should have been a showcase of what they have coming up this year, the same as it has been the past few years. If someone is on the fence about subscribing, that will do more to sell them than Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi will. A sizzle reel of Alien: Earth, Daredevil: Born Again, Ironheart, and Andor would have been a better sell. The same theatrical spot should have been kind of the same; show off clips from the movies coming out with dates.

Taken as a full picture of what Disney has releasing in 2025, what entries were shown, who from these shows and movies were showcased, and what wasn't shown, there is a clear illustration that Disney as an organization has thrown in the towel completely in the culture war. What the endgame is with this plan is unclear because it's unlikely that they will be able to regain ground with the aggrieved groups. Is it possible this is just to try and get the hate machine shut down? They should know that's not going to happen so why bother? It's just the latest version of their performative progressivism but without even the smallest amount of conviction (and that's being incredibly generous with the definition) they showed in the past.