Disney has made a number of changes to their streaming platform Disney Plus following its launch in 2019. After all, the streaming industry and Disney’s own styles of production and distribution have had plenty of ups and downs. Now, however, Disney just made a major move regarding Disney Plus that has resulted in the cancellation of an upcoming series.
It’s a disappointing development, especially for fans that were looking forward to this particular series which was announced as far back as 2020. With five years having gone into the development and production of the series, it’s not only difficult for fans but those creative personnel involved with the show as well.
To see it unravel in such a manner is frustrating for everyone who invested their time and energy into its creation.
Here’s what THR shared on that front:
“Walt Disney Animation Studios has officially pulled the plug on its Tiana princess series as it abandons making original longform content for streaming.”
The outlet continues:
“A spokesperson confirmed there will be some layoffs in its Vancouver studio as a result of this shift in business strategy. In addition to the Tiana series, the studio is also scrapping an unannounced feature-length project that was set to go straight to Disney+.”
For those unfamiliar, Tiana was an animated series that would have followed the hit 2009 animated movie The Princess and the Frog. The film was notable for focusing on Disney’s first African American princess in addition to being one of the studio’s last 2D animated movies alongside 2011’s Winnie the Pooh.
For these reasons, in addition to The Princess and the Frog being a great movie overall, many fans were looking forward to the follow-up series Tiana. In fact, it would have even brought back Anika Noni Rose as the voice of Tiana. Unfortunately, however, this longform project wasn’t meant to be.
As somewhat of a bright side, Disney hasn’t given up on the property altogether. In fact, THR adds that there is “a separate shortform special inspired by The Princess and the Frog“ which is currently in development. As for when this upcoming Disney Plus special, and replacement for the canceled Tiana series could be released, however, that remains to be seen. Joyce Sherri has been attached to write and direct the project with Steve Anderson also onboard as a director.
Ultimately, we’ll have to see what these changes mean for Disney Plus outside of just Tiana and The Princess and the Frog. It does signify what we can expect to see heading into the future of streaming, however, and one can only hope this new strategy works out for the best. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for more updates as we have them.