Disney Bumps Up The Release Date Of Hamilton Letting It Out A Year Early As A Disney Plus Exclusive
This is a noteworthy move on Disney's part. As part of its plan, the company is cancelling its previously scheduled theatrical run for the Hamilton recording, the worldwide rights to which it acquired by shelling out a staggering $75 million to convert it into a streaming exclusive instead.
The decision to convert it from theatrical to digital is also indication of how much the company needs content to put on Disney Plus now to keep its customers engaged and willing to pay $6.99-per-month subscription fees. Cancelled production on a slew of hyped Marvel Studios-produced original shows such as Loki, WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and suggests those original shows are highly unlikely to be released this year, The Verge reported.
Much to Disney's chagrin, the hotly-anticipated major Disney Plus original, The Mandalorian season 2 is not slated to premiere until Oct., leaving the studio with no choice but to release a massively popular content such as Hamilton to not only retain its existing subscribers, but also to lure new ones.
Leaving no stone unturned in its attempt to bolster Disney Plus offerings, the company isn't completely relying on the theatrical release of Hamilton. Aside from this promising theatrical release, Disney is also gearing up to release its adaption of the beloved Artemis Fowl books on the streaming service on June 12th.
The movie version of Hamilton isn't setting Disney back a pretty penny, unlike the film adaption of Cats, Les Misérables, and the imminent In the Heights. It is described as a professionally filmed version of the Broadway show that was edited with the help of recordings filmed over three live performances in 2016 prior to the original cast members leaving the production.
For a large number of people, the Disney Plus iteration of Lin Manuel Miranda’s show will be the first time they watch a performance of Hamilton, which is hardly a surprise given that Broadway show tickets usually cost a bomb. On top of that, this performance is plagued by geographic limits, meaning, it can be performed only in a few cities around the world, such as San Fransisco, Chicago, and New York.
In a press release, Disney’s executive chairman Bob Iger is excited to bring Hamilton to Disney+ on Independence Day, and expressed gratitude to Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Hamilton team for allowing them to do so ahead of the original schedule.