A victory for physical-media collectors: 'Loki,' 'Mandalorian' are coming to Blu-ray
Being a fan of Disney's film and television output has more ups and downs than Space Mountain.
Earlier this year, a bunch of The Mouse's programs were removed from Disney+ and Hulu, meaning they, for all intents and purposes, ceased to exist in the marketplace. Those included the “Willow” sequel series and the long-gestating comic-book adaptation “Y: The Last Man.”
Then in July came a story out of 7 News in Australia that Disney would be pulling out of that region's physical media market - basically, no more DVDs or Blu-rays in Australia and New Zealand after the home release of “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3.”
These aren't consumer-friendly moves from a company whose CEO said in a March conference hosted by Morgan Stanley that home video “was extremely lucrative for our company.”
“And if the best way to monetize (our content) is to make use of all platforms, streaming and traditional, then (content makers) have the ability to do that,” Bob Iger said.
Collectors of physical media were rightly skeptical when those comments were made, but they've had a little faith restored with two surprising announcements this week.
For the first time since Disney+ launched in November 2019, Disney will release 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs of shows made specifically for the streaming service, smartly choosing the most well-regarded seasons from their two biggest live-action franchises.
From the Marvel universe: “Loki: The Complete First Season” will arrive Sept. 26 and “WandaVision: The Complete Series” on Nov. 28. Both will be available in snazzy steelbook packaging favored by many collectors. So far, bonus features have only been announced for “Loki,” and it's the usual collection of making-of featurettes and deleted scenes, in addition to the “Assembled: The Making of Loki” show produced for Disney+.
From a galaxy far, far away: The first two seasons of “The Mandalorian” arrive on disc Dec. 12. No bonus features announced yet.
All four seasons will be available for pre-order beginning Aug. 28.
20th Century Studios
Disney also owns the studio formerly known as 20th Century Fox, and their first streaming-exclusive release is coming to 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD Oct. 3.
“Prey,” the thrilling and shockingly beautiful “Predator” prequel set in 1719 Comanche land, sadly skipped theaters and went straight to Hulu. Vocal fans on social media (this writer included) have been clamoring for a collector's edition, and Disney has come through with a full roster of supplements that even includes an audio commentary track with director Dan Trachtenberg and star Amber Midthunder - that's the kind of bonus that was customary in DVD's heyday but has become increasingly rare in the age of streaming.
The steelbook edition is up for preorder now at bestbuy.com.
Sean Stangland is an assistant news editor who has his fingers crossed for tricked-out Blu-rays of “Barbarian” and “The Empty Man” being announced in time for Halloween.