No sooner has Disney put a spring in AV fans’ steps by announcing last week that excellent Predator spin-off Prey was getting a 4K Blu-ray release having been initially a streaming only title than it’s followed up by announcing physical disc releases of some of the Disney+ streaming service’s most high profile TV shows.
What’s more, these TV series releases are going all-out to appeal to fans by sporting steelbook packaging for both their 4K and HD Blu-ray versions; gorgeous box art designs by artist Attila Szarka; as well as concept art cards and never-before-seen bonus features. And as perhaps the biggest surprise of all, Disney has confirmed that it will be pressing the 4K versions of these TV series releases on 100GB discs rather than the 66GB-capacity discs that it’s used for all of its previous 4K Blu-ray releases bar the two Avatar movies.
The extra disc space matters simply because it means that the video for all the episodes in each series won’t need to be as heavily compressed – a big deal for 4K Blu-ray fans, who are willing to spend more on this premium physical media format precisely because of the extra picture quality it makes possible.
The 4K Blu-ray releases will, of course, also improve over the HD Blu-ray versions by supporting high dynamic range video – though there’s no suggestion in Disney’s information to suggest that it’s returning to using Dolby Vision on its 4K Blu-ray releases, even though all of the Disney+ shows announced for 4K Blu-ray release so far are all available in Dolby Vision in their streaming versions.
The information released by Disney today lists four initial series set to get the 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray treatment: Loki Season One, WandaVision, The Mandalorian Season One, and The Mandalorian Season Two.
All four of these complete season releases will available to pre-order from August 28, with the complete first season of Loki being the first one to actually ship, on September 26. WandaVision will follow on November 28, with both Mandalorian seasons dropping on December 12.
Disney has only provided full details for Loki so far (it’s promised to follow up with details on the other shows nearer their launch dates). These confirm that the complete running time for the series will be 287 minutes, presented in the 4K package across two 100GB 4K Blu-ray discs in 4K HDR video in a 1.78:1 ratio. The 4K release will also benefit from an English Dolby Atmos soundtrack, while the Blu-ray versions get a 5.1 DTS HD-MA mix.
The extra features, finally, will be as follows:
- Designing the TVA – Step into the incredible set of Loki Season 1 with Production Designer, Kasra Farahani, and Tom Hiddleston while getting a sneak peek into Season 2.
- The Official TVA Orientation Video – Miss Minutes explains the inner workings of the TVA timeline in her orientation video.
- Gag Reel – Take a look at some of the fun outtakes on set with the cast and crew of Loki Season 1.
- Deleted Scene: Loki’s Coronation – Mobius reviews some moments from Loki’s timeline, in which Frog Thor makes an appearance during Loki’s coronation.
- Deleted Scene: The Standoff – Loki holds Sylvie hostage against the TVA in a standoff.
- Assembled: The Making of Loki – Loki explores the series centering on the MCU’s chief mischief maker.
These latest announcements join the efforts made with its Avatar 4K Blu-ray releases and last week’s Prey 4K Blu-ray reveal in suggesting that Disney really is serious about physical media once more. And personally I couldn’t be more here for it.
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