Disney

As outlined in a federal complaint spotted by 404 Media, the former employee also allegedly locked 14 staff members out of their Disney accounts using a script to perform thousands of login attempts. He’s also accused of having a “dox” folder on his computer containing personal information about the workers he targeted.

Variety is reporting that the next live-action Spider-Man movie has been given a tentative July 24, 2026 premiere date. That isn’t necessarily when the movie will end up coming out, but it definitely tells us that Marvel and Sony are bullish about getting the Destin Daniel Cretton-directed feature into theaters.

Following the first wave of Disney Plus series coming out on 4K UHD and Blu-ray last year, physical copies of The Mandalorian’s third season, Ahsoka’s first season, Hawkeye’s first season, and Loki’s second season are set to hit stores on October 31st.

Disney Tron: Catalyst, a new title from Devolver Digital’s new Big Fan indie label, is an “all-new story-driven, isometric action adventure game.” The game is being developed by Bithell Games, the team behind the visual novel Tron: Identity.

Catalyst is set to launch in 2025 on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.

There’s white smoke from ESPN’s HQ in Bristol, CT, today, as Shams Charania broke the news of his own free agent signing, saying:

I am honored to join ESPN as the company’s Senior NBA Insider.

He will take over the spot from his one-time mentor and longtime rival, Wojnarowski, who announced his retirement last month.

The New York Times meticulously pieced together the bitter power struggle inside Disney between CEO Bob Iger and his successor, Bob Chapek, who was fired in 2022. The piece, which follows up a 2023 report from CNBC, chronicles Chapek’s rise and fall, and Iger’s quest to return to power.

DirecTV alleged in a complaint to the FCC Saturday that Disney, which pulled its channels from DirecTV last week in its latest carriage dispute, is being anticompetitive, as quoted in Variety:

“The negotiations have stalled because Disney insists on bundling and penetration requirements that a federal district court judge in New York recently found ... to be unlawful, anticompetitive, and ‘bad for consumers.’”

From Disney’s statement to the outlet:

“We urge DirecTV to stop creating diversions and instead prioritize their customers by finalizing a deal that would allow their subscribers to watch our strong upcoming lineup of sports, news and entertainment programming, starting with the return of ‘Monday Night Football.’”

Disney Imagineering debuted its bipedal BD-X droids at its theme parks last year which can remain balanced even while autonomously walking over uneven terrain.

Their creators have been working to improve the droids’ movements and capabilities and are now teaching them to balance on terrain that’s dynamically changing beneath their feet using Disney’s equally innovative HoloTile treadmill floors.

It’s the one that got away — from Star Wars toymaker Hasbro, that is! Hasbro acquired the rights and even patented it around the world, then abandoned it. It’s no “real Disney lightsaber,” but it’s the first to scratch the same self-retracting itch.

The start of this carriage dispute even nixed a US Open viewing session on a screen at New York’s Hudson Yards. While DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, and U-verse customers miss the services they pay for and Venu Sports remains on hiatus, both sides point fingers over the blackout.

Disney / ESPN:

...we will not enter into an agreement that undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs.

DirecTV:

Disney is again taking an anti-consumer approach, demanding that customers from DirecTV and other TV distributors be forced to pay for channels they don’t watch...

Disney just created a committee to find Iger’s replacement as he’s repeatedly said he doesn’t plan to stay CEO long. But he also said that before his last replacement, Bob Chapek, was terminated and Iger returned. So maybe it will be someone new! Or maybe it will just be Bob with a mustache.

In addition to revealing a new Marvel-themed Fortnite season, Disney and Epic Games also announced at D23 that three Disney villains (Maleficent, Cruella de Vil and Captain Hook), three Incredibles characters (seemingly Mr. Incredible, Mrs. Incredible, and Frozone), and two Star Wars characters (IG-11 and Moff Gideon — and a new Grogu backbling) are coming to the game.

Disney invested $1.5 billion in Epic Games earlier this year.

While Fox will show most of it, Simpsons executive producers said at Disney’s D23 showcase that some episodes from the show’s 36th season will only show on Disney Plus, according to Variety.

The episodes include a Christmas one titled “O Come All Ye Faithful” on December 17th. The streamer will also get an exclusive Halloween-themed short in October.

At its D23 showcase, Disney Imagineering showed off HoloTile, a very fancy floor that lets you move things on it or stay in place while you walk. It uses tilting, circular discs that spin in synchrony, moving the “floor” as you walk.

The middle video below shows what each of those pieces looks like.

The world likes Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s team-up, which injected Deadpool into the MCU and brought Jackman’s Wolverine (and lots of other Marvel characters) along for the ride.

Deadpool & Wolverine has made $1.029 billion at the global box office, through today, putting it just a little behind 2019’s Joker as the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, according to Deadline.

Correction: Deadpool & Wolverine made $1.029 billion, not $1,029 billion.

During the Horizons: Disney Experiences panel at this year’s D23 event, Kevin Feige announced that Marvel’s next collab will, unsurprisingly, revolve around Doctor Doom. But the most promising thing about the event’s trailer is the number of X-Men (like Emma Frost) who popped up.

Pixar posted a short Toy Story 5 tease during D23 2024 last night that featured brief, wordless animations of the characters Woody, Buzz, and Jessie.

Some folks on social media realized the animations look a lot like those from a certain Apple Watch face. The video below, spotted by 9to5Mac, drives it home.

But Disney’s live-action/CGI Lilo and Stitch feature will hit theaters next summer.

If Rachel Zegler’s live-action Snow White wasn’t so busy humming and whistling while she worked in the film’s new trailer, she might notice that Gal Gadot’s Evil Queen is clearly trying to poison her.

Even though Marvel’s Agatha All Along Disney Plus series is going to be something of a comedy, its latest trailer is big on witchy vibes that’ll be perfect for its September 18th two-episode premiere.