Disney has announced that the upcoming FX limited series, “Shōgun,” will be released on its streaming services worldwide, including Hulu in the United States and on Disney+ around the world on February 27th 2023.

Along with this announcement, there was a significant shift in release strategy also revealed for Latin America, as previously the show had been announced for Star+, a streaming service that offers sports and general entertainment content from Disney’s studios such as FX, 20th Century Studios, Onyx Collective and ABC.   And now “Shōgun” will get a simultaneous release across both Star+ and Disney+ in Latin America.

“Shōgun,” an original adaptation of James Clavell’s bestselling novel, is set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war. Producer Hiroyuki Sanada stars as “Lord Yoshii Toranaga” who is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him. When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, its English pilot, “John Blackthorne” (Cosmo Jarvis), comes bearing secrets that could help Toranaga tip the scales of power and devastate the formidable influence of Blackthorne’s own enemies — the Jesuit priests and Portuguese merchants. Toranaga’s and Blackthorne’s fates become inextricably tied to their translator, “Toda Mariko” (Anna Sawai), a mysterious Christian noblewoman and the last of a disgraced line. While serving her lord amidst this fraught political landscape, Mariko must reconcile her newfound companionship with Blackthorne, her commitment to the faith that saved her and her duty to her late father.

Back in 2021, while Disney+ in most of the world got a new sixth hub called Star, in Latin America, Disney launched Star+, keeping Disney+ in Latin America more in line with the family-friendly US version.  But over the past year, much like its US counterpart, more mature general entertainment content has begun being added to Disney+

Later this year, in the US, Hulu on Disney+ will be launching, which will start offering more general entertainment content through Disney+.  And this new announcement about  “Shōgun” being shared between Disney+ and Star+ in Latin America, could indicate more changes are coming to the platform and a more substantial possibility that the two platforms could merge.

As Disney is looking to cut costs, focusing all of Disney’s efforts on a single streaming platform across Latin America (and the world), will likely help reduce marketing, development costs and much more.  Plus, more importantly, offers users in Latin America a complete streaming platform to compete with Netflix and Prime Video.

The release of “Shōgun” on both Disney+ and Star+ in Latin America, will likely help boost viewership across the region, and it’s likely we are going to see many more cross-platform originals moving forward, as Disney reduces the amount of original content it makes to save money.

Do you think Star+ and Disney+ should merge in Latin America?  Let us know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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