What Disney+'s Surprise BTS Film Release Means For Future Content

Happy Disney+ Day!

Disney+ is receiving some surprise new blood — in the form of the global sensation, Korean pop (K-pop) boy band BTS and their hottest new concert film.

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The K-pop group BTS coming to Disney+ is not news to those in the know. Upon striking a deal between management company HYBE and The Walt Disney Company, international superstars BTS — whose name stands for Beyond The Scene, Bangtan Boys, and Bangtan Sonyeondan (Bulletproof Boys), depending on who you ask — have slowly and steadily made their way into the collective consciousness of many over the past few years with their massive and loyal fan following, the BTS “ARMY”.

Now, Disney+ Day is kicking things off with the first item on the agenda — a special concert film of BTS: Permission To Dance on Stage LA that will be exclusive to the platform.

BTS Permission To Dance onstage LA Disney+ — Credit: Disney+

Previously, the band has cited that their new Disney+ content will highlight “a more up-close and personal side of us”.

Let’s take a look at what this means for the Disney-owned streaming platform, with the inclusion of BTS and the kind of content that comes with them — as well as what other avenues this opens for Disney+’s future, with their “major expansion into Asian content”.

BTS only on Disney+ — Credit: Disney+ YouTube

The all-South Korean band BTS is owned and managed by BigHit Music under the more recently-formed HYBE entertainment umbrella, and consists of seven members between the ages of , RM (Kim Namjoon), Jin (Kim Seokjin), Suga (Min Yoongi), J-Hope (Jung Hoseok), Jimin (Park Jimin), V (Kim Taehyung) and Jungkook (Jeon Jungkook).

Needless to say, these seven young men have taken the world by storm, with hits like “Fake Love”, “MIC Drop”, “Butter”, “Dynamite” and Coldplay collab “My Universe”. And along with their inclusion in Disney+’s lineup comes their intensely loyal fanbase, the BTS ARMY.

The official Disney+ Twitter tweeted this out to ARMY fans:

💜💜 BREAK YOUR PLANS, ARMY! 💜💜

It’s a surprise #DisneyPlusDay premiere. BTS: PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE – LA is now streaming, only on #DisneyPlus. #DisneyPlusDay #BTSonDisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/4Sij5uIMxq

— Disney+ (@DisneyPlus) September 8, 2022

Performed in Los Angeles, the Permission To Dance Tour was one of the band’s latest live performances, taking place and marking the group’s return to performing in front of a live audience post-COVID-19 — and one of their last before their current “hiatus”-of-sorts.

BTS joining the Disney+ streaming platform will undoubtedly bring in millions — but this one concert isn’t all that’s coming from the BigHit and HYBE-managed boy group.

In fact, BTS already has content on Disney+.

IN THE SOOP: Friendcation, starring V from BTS — Credit: Disney+

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IN THE SOOP : Friendcation is a new Disney+ series that is a spin-off to BTS’ IN THE SOOP (translated roughly to “In The Forest”) starring BTS member V / Kim Taehyung, and several of his friends. The original, all-BTS IN THE SOOP series featured a rare glimpse at the usually highly-stressed celebrities taking a break in an isolated cabin compound by a lake, where BTS get to indulge in healing activities like fishing, cooking, camping, playing recreational sports and of course, making music. This laid-back, slice-of-life series continues with a new set of friends in Friendcation, and is already streaming on Disney+.

This isn’t the only thing BTS have done, though — and it absolutely sets a precedent for a new style content coming exclusively to Disney streaming.

BTS Permission To Dance on Stage LA poster — Credit: Disney+

The boy group (and media powerhouse) have generally been known to produce a whole host of their own variety content — from reality shows like American Hustle Life where they travel to live and work in LA to learn about rap and culture, to “young, independent travelers” travel docuseries BTS: Bon Voyage, to episodic game-show and comedy content in RUN! BTS. These were previously hosted on other platforms like YouTube, Line’s V-App and HYBE-run WeVerse. BTS have even produced full films and documentaries, Burn The Stage, Bring The Soul, and Break The Silence showing intimate behind-the-scenes looks at their international arena and stadium tours — which could inevitably make the move to Disney+ too, alongside the already confirmed Disney+ Original new behind-the-scenes documentary Beyond The Star that’s on the horizon.

BTS Permission To Dance onstage LA Disney+ ON performance — Credit: Disney+

Overall, it seems like Disney+ are branching out in terms of their audience, and attempting to fulfill different niches, especially with new content focused in the Asia-Pacific region.

The acquisition of BTS’ media by Disney could mean a Season 3 of IN THE SOOP with all seven members being Disney+ exclusive, or even an entirely new episodic show or movie. Perhaps a new season of Bon Voyage, or something exploring BTS’ hobbies or creative process — there’s a wealth of possibilities here. Exact information on the planned Disney+ content has yet to be revealed.

Check out the band discussing their future with The Walt Disney Company here:

Not unlike other Walt Disney Company acquisitions like Marvel Studios and Star Wars — we can only make educated guesses as to where Disney will take BTS, their unique form of entertainment, and of course, their ARMY fans.

This could definitely open the door for more international or K-pop-centered content (with other HYBE-managed music groups) to make their way to Disney’s streaming platform.

Are you a fan of BTS? Would you be interested to see more of this type of content from Disney+? Share your thoughts in the comments below!