Whilst reaction to the “Willow” sequel series that launched last year has been a bit varied, the reaction to the news of its sudden removal from the Disney+ streaming service has been anything but.
As previously reported, during an earnings call, Disney revealed its intentions to remove content from its service last week. Then yesterday came a list of the first titles set to be pulled as early as Friday May 26th.
These include some high-profile shows like Hulu’s “Y: The Last Man” and the comedy “Dollface,” but the biggest surprise was that of “Willow” considering it was a high-profile Disney+ original series and had premiered only six months ago with a fairly decently sized marketing push.
The news has provoked some social media backlash along a response from “Willow” staff writer John Bickerstaff who said in a series of tweets:
“They gave us six months. Not even. This business has become absolutely cruel… to spend [REDACTED] on a show and then disappear it six months later is just bad business.”
He also shoots down talk of it being a tax write-off as the shows have already been released, and in the case of “Willow”, they own the property outright. Other writers have come forward to vent their frustration, as can be seen on Bickerstaff’s Twitter timeline.
The talk generated has swirled around the availability of the shows being pulled. HBO Max’s removal of shows like “Westworld” last year drew controversy, but those shows had a clear plan of being sold on to FAST services (e.g. Tubi, Roki).
In addition, those series were still available to purchase through VOD stores like iTunes and Amazon, and many had physical disc releases. That’s not the case with several Disney+ original series, which appear to exist exclusive to that streaming service.
Source: The Daily Mail
