Credit: Inside the MagicWhen Disney launched its very own streaming service — Disney+ — in 2019, subscribers were promised not only a library full of classic Disney animated films, newer live-action movies, and iconic Disney television series, but also a ton of brand-new movies and shows made exclusively for Disney+.
And while there have been a lot of new television series created for Disney+, it seems that there have also been a lot that have been promised by Disney, but then never delivered on.
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In 2020, Disney announced a Princess and the Frog (2009) series was coming to Disney+. The series was supposed to take place after the events of the film and follow Tiana, the new Princess of Maldonia, on a brand-new adventure. However, after four years and a number of delays, Disney recently confirmed that the series, called Tiana, was canceled.
With the announcement that Tiana was canceled, Disney also revealed that it was getting rid of its long-form animation content planned for Disney+. Fans were disappointed, feeling that Disney was drifting further away from its animation roots.
The Princess and the Frog star, Anika Noni Rose, said that she was “deeply disappointed” in the show’s cancellation and spoke about all the people who already put in a lot of hard work.
Sadly, Tiana is not the first series that Disney has promised to fans but never delivered on. In fact, it is actually just one series in a long string of promises broken by the Mouse House.
Let’s take a look at some of the shows Disney has promised and then backed out of.
Beauty and the Beast Prequel: Little Town
In 2020, the same year that it announced the Tiana series, Disney also announced that it would be creating a show based on the blockbuster 2017 live-action film Beauty and the Beast. The show would focus on the story of LeFou and Gaston, before they came to Belle’s “provincial town.”
The series really seemed to have a lot of potential, with Josh Gad (LeFou) and Luke Evans (Gaston) coming back to reprise their roles. Disney also signed on Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis — the minds behind the hit show Once Upon a Time — as showrunners and writers. Alan Menken also agreed to return to write music for the series.
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Unfortunately, there were a lot of bumps in the road, but the series continues to move forward, with additional casting announcements being made. However, in 2024, Evans confirmed that the series was “sadly not on the table.”
Technically, Little Town was put on indefinite hold, so there is always hope that Disney could decide to revive it, but things aren’t looking good.
Swiss Family Robinson
2020 seemed to be the year that Disney made a lot of promises that it would never fulfill. Just like Tiana and Little Town, that year Disney also announced a new series based on the 1960 film of the same name.
Not much was known about the series, but we do know that it would shed new light on Disney’s Society of Explorers and Adventurers. Ronald Moore — known for the popular Starz show Outlander — was even brought on as producer.
However, in 2024, it was reported that Mr. Moore had left Disney and headed over to Sony. It was then that Disney confirmed it was no longer moving forward with the show.
Nautilus
While none of the above shows were filmed and completed, the same cannot be said for Nautilus, which was based on the 1954 film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Disney announced its plans for the new series in 2021, saying that it would explore the origins of the famous Captain Nemo. The series was supposed to be created exclusively for Disney+ in the UK. Casting was completed, scripts were written, and episodes were filmed.
Then, in 2022, Disney announced that the series was not moving forward at the House of Mouse, but it was shopping the series to other studios. Nautilus was purchased by AMC, where the first season aired. The first season was also purchased by Prime Video for distribution in the UK and Ireland.
At the time of publication, the series has not been renewed for a second season.
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Like Nautilus, The Spiderwick Chronicles was another series planned for Disney+, filmed, and then canceled.
The original film, which was released in 2008, was originally created by Paramount, which worked in conjunction with 20th Century Studios — which is owned by Disney.
After the series was canceled for Disney+, Paramount decided to shop the series to other studios. In 2023, it was reported that Roku had purchased the exclusive rights to the series.
Series Removed From Disney+
While it is always disappointing to have Disney announce a series, only to cancel it later, many subscribers find it even more disappointing when a series makes it to Disney+, is canceled, and then disappears. And Disney has removed A LOT of series from its platform, spending a whopping $2 billion to do so.
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One of the biggest removals was probably the Willow series, which was based on the 1988 movie by Lucasfilm. The series premiered in 2022, but was canceled in 2023, despite a relatively positive reception. Things then took a drastic turn when Disney completely removed the series from Disney+ altogether.
Willow film and television star Warwick Davis called Disney out for the decision, calling it “embarrassing.”
And we cannot forget to mention the failure that was the movie Crater, another movie that received positive reviews but was removed anyway. What made Crater particularly unique, in a bad way, was that it was only available on Disney+ for 48 days.
In addition to Willow and Crater, Disney removed more than 100 movies and television shows from Disney+, as well as its other streaming platforms, Hulu and Freeform.
Of the original series it created, Disney removed Big Shot, Turner & Hooch, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, Just Beyond, Diary of a Future President, The Mysterious Benedict Society and The World According to Jeff Goldblum from Disney+.
What series are you most disappointed in Disney canceling? Do you think the company is making and breaking too many promises? Share your thoughts in the comments!