- Production on Disney Plus' Marvel series, "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," was halted in Prague this week due to coronavirus concerns.
- Mobile-insights company SensorTower said that it expects to see an influx of new users install the Disney Plus app when "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" debuts, but Disney did not respond to a request for comment on whether the release date could be impacted.
- Disney Plus got off to an impressive start, but potential original hits like "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" are essential for the service to compete against other streamers moving forward.
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Disney Plus' next likely hit has encountered a roadblock.
Production on "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," the streamer's first Marvel Cinematic Universe TV series, was shut down in Prague this week due to coronavirus concerns, Deadline first reported on Tuesday. The series had been shooting primarily in Atlanta, Georgia, but moved to Prague last week for a short shoot. A person with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed Deadline's story to Business Insider.
Disney did not respond to a request for comment on whether the show's release date could be impacted.
Disney Plus got off to an impressive start after launching in November and gained 28.6 million subscribers by February. The Disney Plus app has been installed by an estimated 50 million App Store and Google Play users across its available markets since launch, according to data provided to Business Insider on Tuesday by mobile-insights company SensorTower.
SensorTower said that it expects to see an influx of new users when "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" debuts. The production hiccup highlights what a problem it would be if Disney Plus' next flagship series, or any more of its major productions, hit roadblocks.
On Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter and Bloomberg both published stories about the issues facing Disney Plus, highlighting projects that have either been scrapped, halted, or moved to the Disney-controlled Hulu. And Bernstein analyst Todd Juenger wrote in a recent report that Disney Plus had probably already reached its peak net adds.
Disney Plus could use another original mega-hit like "The Mandalorian" to give it a boost against Netflix and incoming streaming competitors like HBO Max and Peacock.
The service has been banking on the success of Disney's library of classic animated movies and popular franchises, but has little original content compared to Netflix. Disney Plus has 54 shows in production (of which only a handful are tied to its blockbuster franchises), while Netflix has 287, according to Ampere Analysis.