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Disney+ has found a lot of success with their Marvel and Star Wars streaming content since 2019. They’ve tried to follow it up with a variety of original movies and series, but can’t seem to recreate the same amount of success for their other original content.
Last month, it was revealed that Willow had been unofficially canceled after its first season. The show was a direct sequel to the 1988 fantasy film of the same name, which had gained a cult following over the last few decades. Other recent cancellations also include Big Shot and The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, both being canceled after two seasons. Early this year it was discovered that Disney+ had seen a drastic drop in the amount of subscribers on the platform, leading to speculation that their content was suffering as a result.
Now, another show seems to have followed in Willow’s wake as it was just announced that National Treasure: Edge of History has been canceled after just one season. The show is a spin-off of the film franchise from the mid-2000s. While the original films are still popular amongst millennials, the series didn’t include Nicolas Cage and other than a guest appearance by Justin Bartha, who played fan-favorite side-kick, Riley Poole, there wasn’t much connection between the films and the show.
Disney has been facing lots of backlash over the last few years in the wake of non-stop announcements of remakes, reboots, and spin-off series, drawing accusations that the company can’t create actual original content anymore. While their Marvel and Star Wars series are doing well, they’re starting to draw claims of franchise fatigue. Disney+ has been a great platform for Disney to explore original series and content, but it seems as though they just can’t recapture the success of the Disney Channel and Disney Channel Original Movies from the 2000s.
As more series are cancelled or delayed and their controversial live-action announcements continue to garner criticism and backlash, it’s unclear whether Disney will take audience feedback into consideration or just continue to produce as much content as possible.
What do you think of all the Disney+ cancellations lately? Share your thoughts in the comments below.