'Captain Marvel' is the first Disney film that won't hit Netflix

Image: Marvel Studios

Captain Marvel

premieres on March 8th in theaters around the world, and it’s likely that it’ll bring in massive revenue for Disney. But once its theatrical run ends, you won’t be able to catch it on Netflix. Disney confirmed that the first Marvel movie of the year will not be available on the world’s most popular streaming service. That may seem like a huge shock, but it was always bound to happen because Disney is looking to steer streamers to the upcoming Disney+ streaming service, which will exclusively carry Captain Marvel’s hotly anticipated origin story movie.

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The revelation that Captain Marvel won’t make it to Netflix this year came during Disney’s investor call on Tuesday. Per The Verge, Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors that Disney wants to move its licensed content to Disney+ and forgo its licensing revenue, which currently totals $140 million.

While Iger said that Captain Marvel will be the first Disney film that the company will withhold from licensing partners, it’s unclear what will happen with Marvel’s biggest movie this year, Avengers: Endgame, which launches just over a month after Captain Marvel. Furthermore, it’s unclear when Disney+ itself will launch, which means potential subscribers might have to wait a while longer than expected to stream Captain Marvel. That’s because Disney isn’t expected to debut the service until the end of the year.

Iger said that creatives across Disney’s biggest brands, including Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm are already working on content for Disney+.

“We have a number of creative engines across our company, many of which are dedicating their time and talents to develop content for the Disney+ platform,” Iger said. “Many are the same innovators driving the prolific success of Disney, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel. We look forward to leveraging National Geographic for even more content on Disney+.”

But just because it’s focusing more and more on Disney+, the company doesn’t plan to “adjust the theatrical window,” the CEO said.

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Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.