Star Wars fans received a major shock on Monday morning when the official trailer for Andor revealed a release date of September 21, not the August 31 date that had been previously announced. Why the sudden change mere weeks before Andor was supposed to release? The answer may lie in the business model of Disney+, and an upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe special.
Twitter leaker @CanWeGetToast claims to have seen some of the upcoming Marvel Halloween Special, which will focus on the character Werewolf by Night and star Gael García Bernal and Laura Donnelly. But according to the leak, the special has a very different tone than other Marvel works.
The leak claims the Special is campy, with the werewolf transformation effects forgoing CGI in favor of practical effects influenced by the classic ‘80s movie Teen Wolf. These choices will likely prove divisive; for those who appreciate nostalgia and silliness it could be a dream come true, but for more traditional Marvel fans it could convince them to skip out on the special entirely.
But how does all that affect Andor? Well, the Disney+ business model relies on new work releasing every month to keep subscribers from canceling. Initially, it looked like the Marvel Halloween Special would be the perfect project to carry subscribers into November, but with the leak regarding its tone drawing mixed reviews, it may not have as much appeal as Disney hoped. Instead, Disney+ is hoping that Andor’s 12 episode first season will keep subscribers happy until the holiday season... and into another billing cycle.
It looks like Disney+ is suffering the same problem as many other streamers. Without a big archive and a constant flow of new releases, it’s difficult to keep subscribers around month to month. The fans who subscribed for Loki or Obi-Wan Kenobi aren’t sticking around to watch old movies. They need new shows to stay excited, and subscribed.
So while we may have to wait a little longer for Andor, Disney+ may try to keep the gaps between Star Wars and Marvel content even shorter going forward. Will that be worth it? We’ll just have to see.
Andor premieres on Disney+ September 21.
