After its theatrical run, Captain Marvel will be the first Disney+ exclusive film

Disney is looking to invest heavily in exclusives for its upcoming streaming service, Disney+, and that means having movies like Captain Marvel stream exclusively on the service.

In an investors call on February 5th, Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors that Disney plans to forgo its current rate of $140 million year over year in licensing revenue, in favor of moving its currently licensed content to Disney+. He noted that Captain Marvel will be the first Disney movie that the company will completely withhold from its licensee partners. The news follows Disney’s decision in 2017 to stop licensing its films to services like Netflix.

Iger also noted that creatives across many of Disney’s biggest sub-brands, including Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm, are working on content specifically designed with Disney+ in mind.

“We have a number of creative engines across our company, many of which are dedicating their time and talents to develop content for the Disney+ platform,” Iger told investors. “Many are the same innovators driving the prolific success of Disney, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel. We look forward to leveraging National Geographic for even more content on Disney+.” Disney is in the process of acquiring the magazine and its affiliate TV division as part of its purchase of 21st Century Fox.

Still, just because Disney is investing heavily in its direct-to-consumer (DTC) products doesn’t mean it’s pulling back on theatrical releases.

“We’re not looking to adjust the theatrical window here,” Iger said.

There are still some unknown details about the streaming service, including how much it will cost or when exactly it will launch. Currently, Disney plans to kick off the service sometime at the end of 2019, and says it will cost “substantially less” than services like Netflix, which currently charges $10 a month for its most basic streaming package. While the rest of us will have to wait until the end of the year, investors will be among the first to see Disney+, including some of its original series like Jon Favreau’s upcoming Star Wars show, The Mandalorian, on April 11th during Disney’s Investor Day.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/5/18212693/captain-marvel-disney-plus-netflix-investors-call-bob-iger-streaming