Warning: this article contains spoilers for the first three episodes of ‘The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.’

Disney+ has consistently released very well-received shows ever since the streaming service was launched; this begs the question, is streaming the future of entertainment?

In the time of COVID, at-home entertainment is rapidly becoming the norm. With movie theaters closed indefinitely, the only way to release new content is online. Many people are at home constantly streaming shows and movies, so when there is something new for one of the biggest franchises in the world spanning 23 movies, and now two TV shows, it is a guaranteed hit.

The fact that these Marvel shows are so successful is showing Disney and other brands that these weekly releases are what people want. The excitement of a movie happens only once, but with a weekly series you get hype and discussion on apps like twitter, constantly putting the brand at the forefront of people’s’ minds. 

The newest addition to Disney’s lineup of series is Marvel’s “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier”. The show starts with Sam Wilson, or “Falcon” handing Steve Rogers’ shield to the U.S. Government in order to retire the name of Captain America. After this, Sam goes on a mission in the middle east. We get some classic Marvel fast-paced fight scenes involving a hostage and a helicopter chase. While this is happening, The Winter Soldier, AKA Bucky Barnes, is trying to reconcile his past of being a brainwashed killer for the evil organization, H.Y.D.R.A. 

The show deals with many topics, and one of the most interesting was the fact that it takes place after Avengers: Endgame. As any fan of the MCU would know, this is significant because of all that happened before and during Endgame. The world is changed; Tony Stark is dead, some people lost five years of their lives during “The Blip”, Captain America is presumed dead, Black Widow is dead, and Vision is dead, too. We learn in this show that the Flagsmashers are a group of people who think the world was better during “the Blip”. In an online interview, sophomore and Marvel fan Josh Dunlap mentioned that many fans are interested in this time period and the fallout from the Blip. 

Now, why are these shows on Disney + so popular? So far, there have been three huge shows that were all resounding successes for their respective franchises: Star Wars’ “The Mandalorian” was the first, and a huge hit for anyone who watched it. The next two were both Marvel shows: Wandavision and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. 

Dunlap explained that his idea on the popularity of these shows is that they are something new. He says that huge franchises like Star Wars and Marvel make great movies, but they tend to get repetitive after a while; These shows provide a different way of keeping up with the MCU and other universes, making them very successful.

So now is the time to get into the game. This is the start of a big innovation in how content is consumed, and companies are going to want in. The idea of a weekly series is genius, so get ready for Friday because it will be passing ‘on your left’ before you know it!