Disney Announces Plans to Expand Marvel Unlimited with New Digital Comics Platform Developed Alongside WEBTOON
Star Wars, Disney, Pixar, 20th Century Studios, and original stories will all be represented.
Reading Marvel and Disney comic books on your mobile devices is about to get a whole lot easier, with The Walt Disney Company having just announced its plan to develop and create a brand-new digital comics platform alongside WEBTOON Entertainment, with which it already had a lucrative creative and technological partnership.
What’s happening:
- The Walt Disney Company has announced that it is developing a new digital comics platform with the South Korean company WEBTOON Entertainment. As part of this deal, Disney will also acquire 2% equity interest in WEBTOON.
- The new platform will serve as an expansion to Marvel Unlimited and allow users access to more than 35,000 existing comic books from Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Pixar and 20th Century Studios. Current comic runs and decades of past comic titles will be included.
- Disney+ subscribers will be granted access to a curated selection of content as part of their subscription.
- The comics will be presented in a mix of traditional formats and WEBTOON’s vertical-scrolling format.
- Original series will also be produced for the platform, as was announced previously as part of Disney and WEBTOON’s existing relationship. Select comics will also be localized for WEBTOON’S Asian platforms.
What they’re saying:
- Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro: “By uniting our unparalleled collection of comics across Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Pixar and 20th Century Studios into a single digital platform, we’re giving fans unprecedented access to the adventures they love – all in one place. Through our expanded relationship with WEBTOON, the global leader in digital comics, we’re opening doors to new audiences and deepening fan engagement."
- WEBTOON Entertainment Founder and CEO Junkoo Kim: “With a new platform that will combine our product and technical expertise with Disney’s full comic catalog, we’re giving new and longtime fans all over the world a new way to discover these legendary characters and stories. Disney’s extraordinary storytelling legacy is second to none, and we’re honored to work with them to build the future of digital comics. This is a powerful next step for our growing global business, and a strong foundation for even greater collaboration with Disney in the years ahead."
More from Marvel Comics:
- The aftermath of One World Under Doom will be explored in some upcoming titles.
- X-Men of Apocalypse made its debut last week and is already going into a second printing.
- Disney’s upcoming sci-fi sequel TRON: Ares is getting numerous variant covers from Marvel Comics.