Disney's new streaming service will keep it clean and free of all that filthy R-rated content
Disney has always been meticulously careful to keep its squeaky-clean image intact when it comes to film releases; the studio has never put out an R-rated film itself, instead shunting all that adult content to various tributaries like Buena Vista or Touchstone (or Miramax, back before it sold the company off). Now, it’s sounding like the studio’s much-discussed streaming service will follow similar rules, offering only the family-friendly material most firmly associated with the company’s brand.
That means that, as much as we might want to see Pretty Woman (or, uh, The Scarlet Letter) on the still-unnamed over-the-top service, we’ll just have to wait for those movies to percolate over to Hulu, where they can’t taint Ariel or Belle with all those swears and sex. The current plans also aren’t touching the company’s Marvel offerings, which will maintain their deals with Netflix (at least for now). Meanwhile, it’s not clear what, exactly, will be done with Disney’s Star Wars properties, although the fact that Lucasfilm is developing a new TV series for the service suggests that they might comfortably sit in PG Land with the studio’s more traditional fairy tale fare.
Disney is also developing a robust slate of original content for the service, which is expected to launch in fall of 2019.