While the rest of the world has been enjoying shows like The Mandalorian and Marvels’ What If…?, South Africans have been patiently waiting for Disney+ to be released in this country, and now we have a release window for the service.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that it’s only happening next year, and not early in 2022 either.
“As confirmed in The Walt Disney Company’s Q3 Earnings Call, Disney+ will launch in South Africa in Winter 2022. We will share more details as we approach the launch next year,” a Disney Africa spokesperson tells us.
Said earnings call is available to watch here with mention of South Africa happening around the six minute, 48 second mark.
“The launch of Disney+ in Eastern Europe has moved from late 2021 to [Summer] of 2022, primarily to allow for an expanded footprint that will include parts of the Middle East and South Africa,” says Bob Chapek, chief executive officer of Disney.
That is, of course, the American Summer of 2022, which is between June and August. As we’re smack in that period of time right now, it’s not unfair to say that it may be a full extra year before the streaming service comes to South Africa.
This means that our country will be hopelessly behind when it comes to content. All the Marvel TVs shows as well as the third season of the The Mandalorian will be out by then.
We’ve already seen what a lack of access to Disney+ can do to a release schedule. Black Widow is the prime example with the movie released on Disney+ overseas. It was scheduled to arrive in South African cinemas on 9th July but was pushed back all the way to today, 12th August, because of the latest wave of COVID-19.
With vaccinations still woefully lacking in the country, and a trip to the movies not recommended, we will likely see this scenario play out again as we wait for Winter 2022.
While we wait many local viewers have taken things into their own hands. It’s not uncommon to see South Africans discuss Disney+ content on social media despite the fact that there’s no legal way to access it in the country.
