Despite the initial excitement, Disney has seemingly forgotten its streaming catalog’s Blu-ray releases. Beginning in August 2023, the company began releasing content from Disney+ on physical media, allowing us physical media collectors to own the best that the platform has to offer on our shelves. The last of the currently released 12 titles was released in 2024, with no further waves having been announced since.

With over a year having passed since the last wave was confirmed, Disney has abandoned offering home releases to its audiences. It’s a major mistake by the corporation, but I also feel that it’s a decision that could be changing very soon.

What were Disney+’s Blu-ray releases?

Beginning in 2023, Disney announced that it would be allowing fans the chance to take home their favorite streaming services in limited runs of Ultra HD and Blu-ray steelbooks. These collector-oriented releases focused on the major releases of Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm, beginning with the first few shows that debuted on the platform when it launched.

Alongside being packaged in beautiful steelbook cases, each release featured several art cards and numeorus featurettes that dived into the production of each show, from documentaries to deleted scenes. While later releases would be limited to Ultra HD disks and fewer features, these editions still allowed users to fulfill their dreams of proudly displaying their fandoms at home. Whether you just wanted to dedicate yourself to one title or were a completionist, these releases had a clear market ready to purchase them.​​​​​​​

However, behind the scenes, Disney was in a period of transition regarding how it approached home media. In 2024, the company ceased to produce its own home media, instead signing a contract with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, which would handle physical media going forward. This change would result in the third wave of Disney+ home media releases being produced by Sony, with the decision to only release Ultra HD disks likely being a part of the reasoning.

While Disney’s deal with Sony has continued to see new and old titles from under the corporation’s umbrella to be released on physical media to this day, from Thunderbolts* to The Rocky Horror Picture Show‘s 40th-anniversary Blu-ray, there have been no physical media releases of Disney+ productions since wave 3. As such, fans are either left with only part of a series, such as Andor, or with notable gaps in their collections.

Credit: Lucasfilm.

There could be several factors behind Disney’s decision to hold back on physical media collections for its Disney+ titles. One could be due to the original reception of each show, leaving them apprehensive. While The Mandalorian may have had its complete run to this date printed, spin-off The Book of Boba Fett has held a much more divisive place with viewers. As such, I understand why Disney may be apprehensive in releasing that show—or any other series that has had similar scrutiny—on physical media, in fear that far fewer people will pick up the physical media release.

However, even if that were the case, there are several fan-favorite titles that have yet to be considered for a home release. Andor has not received a Blu-ray for its second season despite consistently being regarded as one of the streamers’ best titles, while both franchises’ animated content has been omitted from the currently released waves. Furthermore, Disney has yet to release titles outside of the two tentpole studios’ slates, such as Percy Jackson & The Olympians and Alien: Earth.

When streaming was at its peak as a distribution method, it had been assumed that studios would maintain these titles’ digital exclusivity to draw audiences to their platforms and keep them subscribed. However, more and more we are seeing streaming giants, including Prime Video and Paramount+, release their titles onto physical media, not only as collector-oriented exclusives but also as standard DVDs and Blu-rays.

Even Netflix, the clear king of the streaming space, is working with several distributors to create physical media releases for their titles, from The Criterion Collection release of KPop Demon Hunters to Arrow Video’s complete Stranger Things box set, making Disney the clear outlier.

Disney is continuing its worst tradition

Yet, this kind of apprehensiveness is unfamiliar with Disney’s distribution history. As Disney moved into the VHS market in the 1980s, Disney started strategically placing certain titles on moratorium after a certain timeframe, making them difficult to acquire for some time, with this strategy being dubbed the “Disney Vault.” However, the notion has evolved as methods of distribution have shifted, with titles being “vaulted” more recently having been associated with how the company handles theatrical re-releases. But I feel that this term can easily describe their Disney+ home release strategy too, especially as the first three waves were so collector-focused and limited in nature already.

However, I feel perpetuating this practice is an incredible mistake by Disney. Not only does it deprive fans of owning certain titles, but it, in turn, deprives Disney of a potential source of revenue that the company could be using to make back the costs of these productions, especially when they now have an agreement in place that allows another company to handle the printing costs.

The Disney Vault was already an outdated model once digital storefronts and piracy became far more accessible, and with fans being willing to create their own bootleg steelbooks and physical editions at home just to fill a hole in their collections, Disney’s adherence to this tradition is doing more bad than good, both in terms of potential profit loss and in regards to their reputation among collectors.

Credit: Errich Petersen

Of course, Disney is in a period of great change at the moment. As Bob Iger steps down from his leadership role and Josh D’Amaro prepares for a new era of the company as its CEO, we are already seeing the company make major shifts in its corporate strategy. This can be seen with their agreement with OpenAI’s Sora app being withdrawn mere months after allowing the company access to their IP library, suggesting that the company is deprioritizing their involvement in utilizing generative AI.

Previous handovers in leadership have already affected the way the company has handled how they release their content. Iger’s second tenure after Bob Chapek’s leadership saw the company pivot away from a streaming-heavy focus to a return to theatrical releases. As such, D’Amaro’s reign may see the company open the Vault once more, allowing us viewers to finally have some of the company’s magic in our own homes.

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