Disney Quietly Admits “Streaming is Dead” Behind the Scenes

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During the making of the second season of his Star Wars series, showrunner Tony Gilroy candidly shared that Disney and Lucasfilm informed him that “streaming no longer works” – this remark was made as Disney’s streaming service business faces growing skepticism and a series of less successful Lucasfilm projects on Disney+.

At the ATX Television Festival, Gilroy shared insights into the backstage hurdles faced during the production of Andor‘s second season.

Gilroy stated that for Disney, $650 million was a significant amount, yet he didn’t receive any suggestions during production of the 24 episodes. He mentioned they expressed disapproval when ‘F the Empire’ was used in the first season, and later in Season 2, Disney/Lucasfilm claimed streaming had lost its appeal due to budget constraints. There were negotiations about money, but the issues weren’t resolved, and this freedom came with obligations.

The statement signifies the initial occasion where a senior Disney creative figure openly expressed that the company no longer considers streaming as a sustainable source for growth. This viewpoint directly opposes the positive outlook often conveyed by Disney CEO Bob Iger, who has consistently emphasized the significance of the streaming industry to Disney’s future.

A Costly Experiment

2022 saw the debut of Andor, one of Disney+’s priciest productions to date. The total cost for both seasons is said to have amounted to a staggering $650 million, placing it among the most expensive streaming series ever made. Despite receiving universal praise from critics, the series didn’t garner the massive viewership that earlier Star Wars shows like The Mandalorian did.

(L-R): Paz Vizsla and the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) in Lucasfilm’s THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

Gilroy’s disclosure emerges as a growing body of proof indicates that the latest Disney+ series from Lucasfilm are finding it difficult to attract viewers.

  • The Acolyte, released in June 2024, opened with 488 million minutes viewed in its first week but dropped off Nielsen’s Top 10 by week four. The season finale recorded just 335 million minutes. With a production budget exceeding $230 million, the series was canceled after one season.
  • Skeleton Crew, another live-action series set in the Star Wars universe, failed to chart in the Nielsen Top 10 at any point during its release. Despite featuring Spider-Man director Jon Watts and Jude Law, the show came and went with little fanfare or media attention.
  • Tales of the Underworld, an animated anthology series released on May 4, 2025, debuted quietly and never registered measurable viewership on industry tracking services. Despite featuring established characters like Asajj Ventress and Cad Bane, the show received limited promotion and made no cultural impact.
  • Ahsoka, released in August 2023, debuted with 829 million minutes viewed but saw a rapid decline in engagement, with later episodes drawing under 500 million minutes. While a second season is in development, insiders have suggested it will be shaped as a potential conclusion to the series.

Compared to its peak, The Mandalorian Season 2 consistently exceeded a billion minutes watched each week, indicating a decrease in Star Wars viewership on Disney+ over the past few years.

Behind-the-Scenes Retrenchment

It seems that Disney’s actions and recent comments by Gilroy suggest a major internal review might be underway, even though they haven’t officially announced any withdrawal from streaming. For instance, the live-action Willow series was entirely removed from Disney+ only a few months after its release. Additionally, some projects have been put on hold or restructured to be released in theaters or as individual specials.

Gilroy’s revelation that Disney expressed “streaming is over” echoes the thoughts that experts and investors have pondered for quite some time now. The financial viability of expensive streaming content production seems to be out of sync with the profit gained, especially considering the highly competitive market environment.

Public Messaging vs Internal Reality

Despite Tony Gilroy’s private doubts, Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, has maintained an optimistic outlook about the company’s future in streaming. During Disney’s Q2 earnings call in May 2025, Iger emphasized that the streaming division had generated $336 million in operating income and was “progressing towards long-term profitability.” He lauded the merging of Hulu with Disney+ and downplayed worries about decreased content supply as a “planned move towards quality” instead.

In February, Iger characterized streaming as “robust” and “an integral component of our growth path.

To this point, there hasn’t been any open admission from Disney that their business model might not be long-term viable. Despite budget reductions, halted projects, and changes to the initial content strategies, there has been no explicit indication that Disney is pulling back on its core streaming objectives.

In one of his earnings calls in 2024, Bob Iger came the closest to acknowledging issues in the space by revealing that Marvel Studios was planning to reduce the amount of content they produce. Instead of presenting this as a result of financial strain, he positioned it as a strategic move towards prioritizing “quality over quantity.” However, he did not indicate that the streaming model itself was under threat; rather, he implied that the selection and type of content would be more discerning moving forward.

Instead, we can say that Gilroy’s statement represents the initial open admission from someone associated with Disney, suggesting that Disney executives now see streaming as having fundamental issues or, at the very least, unsustainable based on earlier financial expectations.

Strategic Uncertainty Going Forward

Gilroy’s disclosure puts more weight on Disney’s executive team to outline their long-term content approach clearly. If big-budget series like Andor are deemed unsustainable, it sparks doubts about the future of Lucasfilm’s streaming projects, especially those that are yet to launch or are awaiting renewal.

The proposed Marvel series such as Ironheart and Wonder Man also raise doubts about their potential for financial success and creative potential due to reported delays and budget limitations. Initially heralded with much excitement during Disney+’s expansion period, these projects are now progressing while under close financial review.

Despite Disney reportedly expressing doubts about streaming by saying “streaming is dead,” they surprisingly went ahead with an unusually high budget for Andor Season 2, bringing the total series cost to $650 million. This substantial investment indicates that Disney is willing to spend more on shareholder funds, even as they hint at reduced trust in streaming’s long-term success as a primary growth driver.

At the core of Disney’s predicament, there exists a paradox. Privately, executives acknowledge that the streaming model might not be working optimally. Yet, publicly and to investors, they persist in pouring significant resources into high-end streaming productions, giving an impression of success.

Moving forward to 2026 and beyond, it might get more challenging for Disney to reconcile its internal circumstances with public statements, especially if shareholders push for transparency. Tony Gilroy’s recent remarks could be indicating that Disney’s streaming aspirations, which were once robust, are now in a controlled phase of decline, despite the company persistently projecting otherwise.

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2025-06-02 15:58