Disney Headlines for May 27th, 2025
I’ve got bad news for Avengers fans that may actually be a blessing in disguise.
In this week’s Disney Headlines, we’ll also discuss an odd ESPN defection that may not stick and, because I just can’t help myself, Lilo & Stitch.
A Sensible Delay
I presume you saw the story by now. Marvel just unexpectedly delayed the next two Avengers movies by seven months each.
Previously, the films would have debuted in May 2026 and May 2027. Now, the studio has pushed them until December 2026 and December 2027.
Marvel
You’re probably wondering why, and the answers are twofold. One is financial in nature, while the other is more pragmatic in nature.
Let’s start with the money since that’s what drives much of The Walt Disney Company’s recent decision-making.
Photo: Marvel
Disney doesn’t want to find itself in a defenseless position again if/when some activist investor tries to push their way into power.
Thus, most of the recent film decisions have been financially motivated. Remember when Disney said it would dial back the Marvel sequels?
Olaf’s Frozen Adventure – on Disney+
Yeah, that strategy lasted like four months before Disney went all-in on sequel-itis. We’re getting more Frozen, The Incredibles, Toy Story, and Avengers stories.
The Avengers part of this conversation is fascinating in that Disney had previously tried to cut corners by ditching the old cast. They’d simply grown too expensive.
Photo: Marvel
At the time, film executives felt confident that the Marvel Cinematic Universe sold itself right up until Eternals came out and proved the theory wrong.
Now, Disney is back in the business of writing big checks to famous faces like Robert Downey Jr., who left the MCU just long enough to win an Academy Award.
Photo: CBR
Now, he’s back, albeit in a new role as Doctor Doom, one of the most iconic Marvel villains. And Disney expects big things.
Explaining the Delays
Getty
Historically, a few box office weekends have proven themselves to be among the most lucrative.
Two of the big ones have been the first week of May and the first week of November. So, that’s where Disney had slotted Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Photo: Disney
However, as you probably learned with Mufasa: The Lion King, late December is actually the ideal time to release a film.
With virtually everyone in North America enjoying at least some vacation time, consumers can go to the movies if there’s something good enough to interest them.
Photo: Disney
Wouldn’t you expect an Avengers movie to interest them? Well, Disney does, and that’s why it has pushed the next two Avengers titles to December.
Now, they’ll gain the same benefit that Avatar: The Way of Water did on its way to become a top-three all-time blockbuster.
(Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
Disney knows that Marvel has excelled in this window as well. It’s the same launch period that elevated Spider-Man: No Way Home to $1.9 billion in box office.
Folks, Disney has a plan here. But there’s more to the delay than that. This push also gives the digital effects team a much longer runway to create good-looking films.
Photo: Marvel
That’s the hidden key to all this, as Disney absorbed tons of criticism for pushing its special effects crew too hard during previous Marvel projects.
Thanks to the delays, crunch, an industry term for overworking computer effects specialists, shouldn’t be anywhere near as big an issue.
An Odd Defection
Photo:Joe Faraoni/ESPN
The proverb states that revenge is a dish best served cold. That statement may apply to former (?) ESPN executive Justin Connolly, who just defected to YouTube TV.
Fortune 500 corporations poach Disney talent all the time. So, this story shouldn’t be newsy, yet it really, really is.
Deadline
You probably don’t know who Connolly is, but I’d like to think you’ve heard of Jimmy Pitaro, the current Chairman of ESPN.
Well, Connolly was the person who reportedly finished second in that race. According to his LinkedIn bio, Connolly had worked at Disney and/or ESPN since 2000.
Photo: Disney
In hiring Pitaro, ESPN chose someone with roots outside the company, although he’d worked as Chairman of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media for nearly two years at the time.
Here’s the Deadline article from 2018 listing the finalists, one of whom was Connolly. You’ll note that he was one of only two other internal candidates listed.
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
After Pitaro came onboard, Disney transferred Connolly from ESPN. Then, the executive wound up going back and taking ESPN job duties anyway.
In simplest terms, Connolly lost the promotion he coveted but then had to train the outsider who got the job instead. You can imagine how that must have felt.
Fast forward to now, and it’s possible that Connolly is finally serving his dish of cold revenge, as he just left for YouTube TV.
Can He Do That?!
Photo: Playbuzz.com
Ordinarily, Disney wouldn’t care about this at all, but the timing matters greatly here. ESPN is about to engage in carriage licensing fees negotiations with YouTube TV.
By poaching one of the most informed people at ESPN, YouTube TV gains insider knowledge during the negotiations. Not coincidentally, Disney is suing Connolly.
Photo:ofx.ie
This is the fascinating part of the conversation, as Connolly recently signed a contract extension with Disney that lasts through March 2027. FYI: It’s not 2027 yet.
The move is, let’s say, rather aggressive by Connolly, with Deadline reporting YouTube TV was fully aware that he was under a long-term contract with Disney.
My gut instinct here is that Connolly has burned bridges at Disney, which can legally block him from working for the competition.
However, some reports suggest that Connolly possessed the right to terminate his contract, which completely changes the narrative if true.
Since Google has high-profile lawyers as well, this particular situation is setting up as a fascinating legal battle, one with financial repercussions for Disney.
YouTube TV is far and away the most popular skinny bundle streaming service, the digital equivalent of cable television. It currently claims eight million subscribers.
ESPN’s current carriage fees are over $10 a person, which makes this one hiring fascinating. There’s an upcoming $80 million negotiation.
Photo: ESPN
YouTube TV just convinced a quarter-century Disney loyalist to turn heel. It’s like a Wrestlemania angle. What happens next?
I presume a court prevents Connolly from joining YouTube TV. However, if Google’s attorneys win an injunction, they can run out the clock while negotiations ensue.
As far as corporate gambits go, this is a fun one to track.
‘Lilo & Stitch’ Dominates
Photo: Disney
As expected, Lilo & Stitch absolutely dominated the box office, leading Memorial Day to a stunning box office turnaround.
During the 2024 holiday weekend, Memorial Day box office plummeted to $132.3 million, among the lowest totals in 30 years.
Photo: Disney
Lilo & Stitch bested that total on its own, and I’m just talking domestically. Worldwide, the live-action remake earned a whopping $314.7 million.
I liked the film, but my review boils down to, “Needed more Stitch!” Then again, every shot could have had Stitch in it, and I still would have felt that way.
Photo: Disney
To a larger point, I had to laugh while watching the credits. One of the people listed was Sean Bailey. Remember him?
Bailey took the fall when Disney infamously swore off live-action remakes, reading the room as pop culture diehards swore off this form of cinema.
Photo: Disney
Now, here we are, barely a year later, and all it took was one exceptional film for everyone to realize that live-action remakes deliver plenty of fun when done right.
Hilariously, if I’d said the same thing two months ago, y’all would have broken bottles on the tables and brandished them as you came at me.
Photo: Disney
That memory of Snow White has lessened now that Stitch is charming everyone, though, just as I knew it would.
Disney never stays down for long, and movie-goers have blessedly short memories. And we’re probably getting a Lilo & Stitch sequel now because of how well this film has done.
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Feature photo: Marvel
