The Disney Plus content strategy is changing direction, and the results are already visible across the streaming platform’s slate. Brad Winterbaum, head of Marvel Television, confirmed the shift in February 2025, telling ComicBook.com that the platform’s approach to storytelling had moved on from the model that defined its early years.
Disney Plus launched in November 2019, months before the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped movie theaters. The platform built its early subscriber base around MCU and Star Wars IP, using streaming series to keep franchise audiences engaged between films. Shows like WandaVision, Hawkeye, Loki, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier introduced new characters and bridged gaps between theatrical releases. Star Wars followed a similar path: after The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, the franchise paused theatrical releases entirely and routed new stories through Disney Plus originals.
What the disney plus content strategy change means
Winterbaum set out the new direction in plain terms: “Moving forward, our priorities have shifted. We’re making shows as shows that can exist as annual releases, more like television…we’ve gone back to a more traditional television model.”
In practice, that means Disney Plus shows should work as standalone television, not as extended film marketing. A series needs to function for viewers with no prior franchise knowledge, and it should be designed to run across multiple seasons rather than wrapping up in six or eight episodes with an ending built to set up an upcoming movie.
Animation leads the change
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, both renewed for second seasons, show the new approach in animation. Spider-Man is set in an alternate universe, removing any requirement to align with MCU continuity. Maul – Shadow Lord draws on The Clone Wars and Rebels in the wider Star Wars timeline, but the first season was structured as a standalone story. A viewer with no prior knowledge of Maul’s other appearances could follow season one without being lost.
Live-action moves to character-led stories
The live-action slate follows the same pattern. The Marvel Spotlight label covers Echo and Wonder Man, both built around street-level characters rather than top-tier Avengers names. Echo brought in Wilson Fisk and Matt Murdock from the earlier Netflix Marvel series. Wonder Man centers on Simon Williams with only light connections to the wider MCU. Wonder Man has been renewed for a second season.
Daredevil: Born Again goes furthest in adopting the new model. The show follows Murdock and Fisk through a story built for multiple seasons. Rather than pulling in Avengers-tier names, it draws on figures from other Disney Plus and Netflix Marvel projects. Krysten Ritter returns as Jessica Jones, and the supporting cast stays at street level. The creative team’s stated goal is a long-running series, not a lead-in for upcoming MCU films.
Star Wars returns to theaters
The Mandalorian and Grogu is set for theatrical release, ending a six-year gap in Star Wars cinema. The film signals that Disney sees streaming and theatrical as two channels that can coexist. Star Wars will not function solely as a Disney Plus subscriber draw going forward.
Renewals across the slate suggest the shift is sticking. Shows produced under the old format still exist, but the pipeline going forward reflects the February 2025 direction: television built to work as television, not as promotion for upcoming films.