While the talk of the town is undoubtedly the highly anticipated release of The Little Mermaid, which will be swimming into theaters May 26 (the water puns just don’t get old), there’s always more to talk about when it comes to Disney. Earlier this month, Disney Plus announced it was removing a ton of its content from its streaming catalogue and that’s been looming over subscribers’ heads as they debate whether to weigh their streaming options and jump ship. I’ll also get into some movie recommendations and where to watch them — Disney Plus has some surprising gaps they need to fill — in light of The Little Mermaid‘s release.
In other news, a Star Wars icon revealed he’s shockingly never been asked to host Saturday Night Live and offered an even more surprising reason behind the show’s snubbing him. Let’s dive in.
You only have one day left to watch these 50 films and TV shows before Disney Plus removes them from streaming
Just last week, Disney caused a commotion by announcing the removal of exactly 50 titles from their streaming service. If you’re interested in watching anything on the list, time is running out; all 50 films and series will be removed from Disney Plus and Hulu on May 26. The streaming purge is part of a larger initiative to cut costs up to $5.5 billion, along with the media company looking to layoff a grand total of 7,000 employees, or 3 percent of their workforce. While some of the removed content has already finished wrapping, many series were still in production and found out about their cancellations through the announcement. The cast of two such shows, Y: The Last Man and The Mysterious Benedict Society, took to social media to voice their displeasure, as did many frustrated creative professionals.
Another show, Willow, was cancelled after one season and will now be removed entirely from streaming services, leading fans to petition Disney to bring back the show. Willow is a sequel to the 1988 film of the same name directed by Ron Howard and is also the first Disney series to feature queer romance at the center of the story. Willow’s removal and the removal of Howard, the tribute to Howard Ashman, a queer lyricist who worked with Alan Menken on some of Disney’s most beloved songs in films like Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, and Aladdin, have many fans in the LGBTQ+ community doubting Disney’s commitment to representing the community in ways that matter.
Some streaming recommendations before The Little Mermaid comes into theaters — and some surprising gaps in Disney Plus’ streaming catalogue
In lighter news, if you’re planning on holding onto that Disney Plus subscription, there’s a few movies you can watch before The Little Mermaid hits theaters tomorrow. An obvious choice would be to watch the other live-action Disney films, but if you’re a Disney Plus subscriber, you’ll notice a few glaring omissions. While most of the films are on the streaming site’s still very-large selection, both 2015’s Cinderella and 2014’s Maleficent were removed recently due to old deals expiring. The earlier live-action films are fairly well-regarded (as far as remakes go), which makes their absence even more disappointing to any potential viewers. A new deal is likely to go into effect soon, but if you want to watch either of these films before The Little Mermaid if you’re a Prime Video subscriber.
If the live-action remakes aren’t your thing, you can also watch the animated 1989 version of The Little Mermaid and its sequels, like the underrated The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. Yes, the animated sequels are cheesy and obviously intended for a young audience, but it’s not a bad way to hype yourself up for the live-action.
Mark Hamill shares the surprising reason he’s been snubbed by Saturday Night Live
Mark Hamill, best known for starring as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, recently shared that he’s never been asked to host Saturday Night Live. In an interview with Esquire, Hamill said that after Carrie Fisher appeared on the show, he was eagerly waiting for the opportunity to demonstrate his own comedy chops, “I was over the moon because it was my favorite show, Carrie was great on it, and it made me really want to do it.” However, when he appeared on a similar show on a rival network, he believes he squandered his shot.
I was asked to host Fridays, which was ABC’s answer to SNL. And I think—I’m not sure, again, I’m just speculating—but I have a feeling that that might have been a factor in not being thought favorably of by Lorne Michaels.
I find it hard to believe Hamill’s never been invited to host, especially given his great work in shows like What We Do in the Shadows and as the iconic voice of the Joker in pretty much every animated Batman series. For now, all I can do is imagine Hamill’s opening monologue and dream about what could be.
