Tony Gilroy doesn’t mince words. The Andor creator recently dropped a line that shocked Star Wars fans: “In Season 2, they said, ‘Streaming is dead, we don’t have the money we had before,’ so we fought hard about money, but they never cleaned anything up.”
From a company that practically built Disney+ into the Death Star of content delivery, it’s a bold claim. But Gilroy wasn’t lying. Days after his comment hit Indiewire, Walt Disney announced massive layoffs. It’s cutting hundreds of jobs across its film and TV divisions.
That’s not a small shake-up. Employees from casting, marketing, publicity, and even corporate finance are getting the boot. It’s a major gut punch to the entertainment side of a company that, until recently, was pumping out Marvel and Star Wars content.
Disney+ is still the third most-subscribed streaming service globally, trailing just behind Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. But popularity doesn’t equal profit. Disney’s own Bob Iger admitted earlier this year that streaming led to a $4 billion loss. “We invested too much, way ahead of possible returns,” he said.
Now, Disney is backing away from the very franchises that were supposed to fuel this streaming empire. Marvel and Star Wars are being downgraded.
The Acolyte is cancelled. Season 2 of Skeleton Crew is not in development. The Mandalorian Season 4 isn’t happening either. According to leaker Daniel Richtman, Disney now views Mando as a film franchise. The Mandalorian & Grogu is hitting cinemas on 22 May 2026, and that box office performance will decide if the duo’s story continues.
Other Star Wars series are in purgatory too. Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 2 is not happening. The Book of Boba Fett Season 2 is also dead. Andor ended with Season 2 (even though it was meant to run for 5 seasons). Ahsoka Season 2 is one of the few survivors.
Over on Marvel’s side, it’s not much better. Daredevil: Born Again bombed pretty hard in terms of viewership. Shows like Ironheart, Wonder Man, and even Eyes of Wakanda are limping forward with slashed budgets and dwindling hype.
Disney tried to do too much too fast. The shotgun approach to content blew up in their faces. And now, the Walt Disney layoffs are the fallout.
But is streaming actually dead? Or is this just Disney course-correcting after years of overspending?
