Disney has been doing all the right things to get customers interested in Disney Plus. The new streaming network will give subscribers access to the vast majority of the Mouse House’s back catalogue and will also boast high profile new series like The Mandalorian and a number of excellent-looking MCU TV shows. We heard a lot about these during this past weekend’s Disney D23 expo but we also heard of something that might end up being the network’s Achilles’ heel. Namely, that it won’t host any content rated R or above.
Entertainment writer Eric Vespe put the question to Disney directly and posted their response on Twitter, in which he revealed that a representative explained that the network will be strictly “PG-13 or softer.” For Disney, this makes sense, as they’ve always been protective of their image as a family-friendly company, and on a streaming platform it’s difficult to work out whether the person watching is an adult subscriber or (for example) one of their children.
But this decision may have long-lasting impacts for the service. For example, the MCU Netflix shows like Jessica Jones, Daredevil, The Punisher and Luke Cage would most likely have been deemed too adult for a PG-13 rating. Not only does that indicate that they’ll never make the jump to Disney Plus, but that the MCU shows already announced won’t be able to be as graphic or approach adult themes in the way the Netflix series did.
The first consequences of this decision may have already been felt, too, as we learned this weekend that the Mouse House has cancelled Book of Enchantment, which was intended to be a Disney Plus exclusive series that would have delved into the lives of classic Disney villains. The reason given for the show being cancelled was that it was “going into a darker direction than anticipated.”
While I’m sure they can do a lot within this PG-13 rating, I suspect it will only add to the sense that Disney Plus will forever be a family-friendly network and that anyone seeking more mature fare had better go elsewhere.