The future of Disney Plus is a confused mess

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FollowSee All DisneyThe future of Disney Plus is a confused messDisney CEO Josh D’Amaro wants the streaming platform to become a kind of everything app. Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro wants the streaming platform to become a kind of everything app. by Charles Pulliam-Moore Charles Pulliam-MooreFilm & TV ReporterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

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FollowSee All by Charles Pulliam-MooreMay 7, 2026, 4:00 PM UTC Image: The Verge Charles Pulliam-Moore Charles Pulliam-MoorePosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All by Charles Pulliam-Moore is a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

Newly minted CEO Josh D’Amaro says that he wants to turn Disney Plus into “the immersive, interactive digital centerpiece of the company. ” It used to be that people went to the movies or theme parks to immerse themselves in Disney’s fictional worlds. But now, D’Amaro says that he sees Disney Plus becoming “the primary relationship between Disney and its fans.

”The general idea that D’Amaro put forth during his call with investors this week is that Disney Plus and Disney’s parks are both places that people visit to spend money while engaging with the company’s characters and worlds. D’Amaro framed the streaming service and the parks as complimentary parts of Disney’s larger brand that, together, could create “a more connected fan experience” where Disney uses “technology as an accelerant. ”A lot of this makes sense on paper.

Seeing a movie or show on Disney Plus could inspire a fan to plan a trip to Disney World, and a trip to Disney World might push a visitor to sign up for the streaming service if they don’t already have one. It also tracks that Disney would put more energy toward building Disney Plus’ profile given how much cheaper a subscription is compared to the costs attached with making a trip to one of Disney’s theme parks. RelatedOpenAI just gave up on Sora and its billion-dollar Disney dealDisney’s big bets on the metaverse and AI slop aren’t going so wellDisney Plus is getting vertical videoD’Amaro — who has been banging this kind of synergy drum ever since he became CEO — told investors that reducing Disney Plus’ churn by making the platform central to Disney’s brand “might be the single most significant opportunity that we have.

This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.