Fans react to Disney+ removing over 40 shows and films including Willow and Y: The Last Man

Virgin Radio

19 May 2023, 12:50

Disney+ removing popular streaming titles, including Willow and Y: The Last Man

Credit: Disney+

Disney+ is waving goodbye to a number of major series, documentaries and original movies from the service on 26 May including fantasy show Willow and Y: The Last Man in order to cut costs.

According to Deadline, also exiting the Disney doors is Howard, sports drama sequel series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, the Turner & Hooch show, National Geographic’s The World According To Jeff Goldblum, Sex Pistols drama Pistol, fantasy film Artemis Fowl and Shakespearean teen comedy movie Rosaline.

The publication reports that 'Disney is the latest media company to purge content from its streaming platforms in a cost-cutting measure as the industry is rethinking costs and strategy in that arena with a renewed focus on profitability'.

Credit: Disney+

Disney CEO Bob Iger's aim is to 'cut content on its streaming platforms after losing more than a billion dollars on the platform', targeting $3 billion (£2.4 billion) in savings in 2023.

The chop of Willow - the revival of Ron Howard's 1988 fantasy film - comes just four months after production wrapped in January and was cancelled in March - now completely removed from the service.

"They gave us six months. Not even. This business has become absolutely cruel," writer John Bickerstaff wrote in response.

Y: The Last Man showrunner Eliza Clark shared her sadness on Twitter and wrote: “Well, you work on something for years, pour your heart and soul into it, as do hundreds of other artists. You make it during a global pandemic, far from home. Then it is cancelled before it even has a chance to finish airing. Then, it is disappeared."

Credit: Twitter

Disney CFO Christine McCarthy said the company was 'in the process of reviewing the content on our [direct to consumer] services to align with the strategic changes in our approach to content curation'.

One US creator wrote on Twitter: "Thousands of people were underpaid and overworked— and that is the best case scenario— to make these products that are no longer available to buy."