If you’re a collector who likes to have physical copies of the media you consume, there’s good news: Disney is making some shows available that were previously only able to be watched via streaming.
The first two seasons of The Mandalorian are now available for pre-order on either Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD, marking the first time that the series has been made available to purchase. Disney has also made Marvel Cinematic Universe shows Loki and WandaVision available for purchase.
If you’re wanting to purchase these, it will set you back quite a bit of money. Just one season of The Mandalorian costs $54.99 USD for the 4K UHD copy, and $49.99 for the Blu-ray. They come in steelbook fashion, complete with new artwork, art, and featurettes to watch, and it will be released in December.
But the bigger thing at play here is simply the fact that Disney is making them avaialble for purchase at all. The Mandalorian was the flagship series that accompanied the launch of Disney+ late in 2019, and it has remained the pillar. Loki and WandaVision have both been well-received also, helping to drive subscriptions fo the streaming service, but now a few years later the company is seemingly experimenting by seeing how much extra they can make by selling these physical copies.
And I think that’s great, especially given the fact that the future of streaming is far murkier than it appeared a few years ago. Studios are struggling to turn a profit in the streaming era, and as a result have actually pulled some original content from the platforms to save money. Disney has done the same, and one of them was a Lucasfilm original, as the Willow series was pulled off of Disney+ just months after its release. So right now, fans who want to watch that show can’t find it anywhere (at least not officially), which seems crazy. But it has also highlighted how just because something is available to stream today doesn’t mean it will be forever. Far from being dead, then, physical media seems as valuable as ever. That’s why it’s significant that Disney is now selling some of their original shows in this format.
Now, lest you get some doomsday ideas, there’s almost no chance of any Star Wars material being pulled from Disney+ anytime soon, as it’s one of the pillars of the platform. But with less recognizable projects being pulled, it’s a reminder that nothing is a given, so I’m glad Disney is selling some of these shows for fans to buy physical copies of. I hope it’s a trend that continues.
Star Wars Thoughts 