Rumors have traveled across the web of late, reporting that Disney plans to stop releasing 4K versions of physical media except in rare exceptions such as Star Wars movies or animated films. Now, however, Disney has officially stated that there are no current plans to discontinue any particular format, and that every release will continue to be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Physical media has, more and more over the past couple years, become an increasingly niche market as studios push more releases onto digital platforms. Despite this, there are still plenty of buyers, and for those willing to pay extra for increased quality, the rumors of discontinued 4K support was quite worrying. Disney now owns not only all of its studio’s movies, but also the entire 20th Century Fox back catalog, and plenty of fans are still crossing their fingers for 4K versions of classic films.
So while Disney’s statement is somewhat reassuring, it’s not entirely bulletproof due to a few strange details. Firstly, while the statement indeed came from Disney after an inquiry from Forbes, it was not attributed to any specific individual, simply an unnamed spokesperson within the company. Secondly, the statement begins “There are no plans to discontinue releases in a particular format. We evaluate each release on a case by case basis….” While this, on the surface, seems to debunk the rumors, there is quite a bit of wiggle room in the fine details. While Disney may not have official plans to kill off 4K support, that doesn’t guarantee they won’t be scaling back at all, nor does it mean that the possibility isn’t on the table.
Unfortunately, due to the vague wording of the statement, it’s difficult to call this a definitive response to the rumors. While Disney certainly has the option of releasing its films however it chooses, it would be disappointing if the company chose to move away from 4K support. The fact a response was offered at all may suggest that Disney is at least aware that such a decision would be controversial, but doesn’t say much about their actual considerations on the topic. Hopefully, as discussion continues to circulate on the rumors, Disney will be pressed to make a more conclusive statement about their future plans.
Source: Forbes
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