That’s how our brain works —instead of getting inspired by good things, we are all for the bad influences. Just ask Disney.
Thus, why take after Netflix saving the likes of Nimona, when there are worse things to learn from the streamer? Why build solid shows with perfect storylines when it can go back to ram its hammer against the sound ones? Or well, why do anything right when the studio has a past where it proudly sent the greatest Disney Dad a residual check of $0?
Disney plotting to kickstart limiting ‘password sharing’ after Netflix begins the trend
After Netflix’s widely detested password crackdown, Disney Plus is planning to start enforcing stricter rules and it’s beginning its steely regime by tightening its lax guidelines in India.
Majorly, Disney Plus allows as many as six profiles on the streamer, but only four logins at a time. Similar rules are in place for the streamer’s subscribers in India, but their application is not strictly observed, thus allowing even as many as ten logins to use the platform at the same time. But not for long as Reuters has reported Disney Plus aims to enforce the rules in place, thus making it mandatory that one account can only be accessed by four different devices at the same time, hoping that it will push more people to buy subscriptions.
Nothing like Netflix’s stern password policies, but this is just the beginning.
7 years of a core MCU character’s arc is retconned without an explanation
Gone are the days when Marvel provided solid, non-arguable reasons for its shocking twists, now stories of characters just change out of the blue as nothing is sacred anymore, not even James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes, who — as confirmed by Secret Invasion director Ali Selim — was replaced by a Skrull soon after he lost consciousness after his accident in Civil War.
So, all those quirky one-liners, caring for Tony, aiding the Avengers, bringing back half the dusted Universe,.. all of it was a farce as fake Rhodey bid his time as per Gravik’s instructions. It could make a nice U-turn but after Secret Invasion’s messy finale, it feels more like Netflix’s half-baked decision to switch Henry Cavill with Liam Hemsworth has inspired the Mouse to dole out haphazardly cooked story choices of its own.
As if Skrull-Rhodey-since-Civil-War proclamation is not already starting to crumble — the first 20 minutes of Avengers: Endgame already gave it a plothole — Selim went ahead and snatched away one of the few things that gave Secret Invasion any salvageable stakes. Apparently, as “anything can happen” in the MCU, even the deaths of Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill and Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos are up for grabs if anyone at Marvel plans to introduce any more unnecessary twists. Seeing that Smulders is scheduled to appear in The Marvels that possibility might not be as far-fetched as it sounds.
But Disney is not just about finding inspiration —history is proof that it is perfectly capable of crafting original disappointments, like this one…
Paying Lizzie McGuire’s father $0.00 in his residual check
Every since the SAG-AFTRA strike began, we have seen jaw-dropping stories of the meager, and often barely there, residual earning (sometimes as low as $0.01) actors get from shows and films that continue to bring in big bucks. Well, here is another — how Disney unashamedly sent Robert Carradine, who played Lizzie’s father in the Disney series Lizzie McGuire, a check for $0.00 back in 2019.
Carradine shared a snap of the check on Instagram, aptly captioning it “Why we’re striking” in case anyone is still scratching their heads about the actors going on a strike. While it feels weird to cut a check for zero, the production house probably did it for tax purposes.