Disney

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Standard stock images of Homer and Marge in front of a poster for the upcoming Simpsons movie.

Last month, Disney shocked the world by announcing the long-awaited follow-up to 2007’s The Simpsons Movie by unceremoniously dumping a teaser image on Instagram. In this modern computer age, the sheer tonnage of information being blasted at you like a shotgun can be overwhelming, making it pretty difficult to keep up. So, as a service to you, here’s a list of everything we currently know about the upcoming sequel:

  • The release date (July 23, 2027)

Now here’s a list of things that have not yet been officially confirmed:

  • The title
  • The cast
  • Who’s directing it
  • Who’s writing it
  • Who’s producing it
  • Who’s scoring it
  • What it will look like (2D? 3D? Live action??)

When the theatrical Bluey movie was announced last year, they put out a press release with all kinds of information about the film, creative team, and plans for its release, peppered with quotes from executives and creatives. It seems odd that Disney has yet to do the same for this upcoming Simpsons movie, which is being released two weeks earlier. Should fans be concerned about the lack of information? Is this movie being rushed and everything’s in flux? Could they be pulling a switcheroo on us? Has the unproduced live-action Krusty sitcom from the 90s been turned into a movie??? Be sure to keep checking IN THE NEWS to stay up to date with the latest news as it’s tortured out of the writers.

JOCK CENTER

The Simpsons and Milhouse are shocked at something on TV.
(Fox Flash)

After 36 seasons, a beloved television staple is leaving its longtime network.

Inside the NBA, the popular sports analysis show, is moving from TNT to the Disney-owned channel ESPN starting with the 2025-2026 season. TNT’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, lost the NBA rights in a major bag fumble. The show will continue to be independently produced by TNT Sports at its Atlanta-based studio.

The show, which premiered in autumn 1989, ended its run on TNT last night with co-host Shaquille O’Neal giving a profane sign-off: “We’re a family. I’m glad we’re sticking together. And like I said, even though the name changes, the engine is still the same. And to that network we coming to, we not coming to eff around. Since this is the last show, I’m going to say it- we not coming to fuck around. We kicking ass, we taking names and we taking over.” [Yahoo Sports]

FOX NEWS

The Simpsons recieve an eviction notice.

The Simpsons has had a home at Fox for nearly four decades. Now it looks like our favorite family could be leaving forever.

Los Angeles Times:

Walt Disney Co. acknowledged Tuesday that it will be vacating the storied Fox Studio Lot, where it has been the primary occupant since Disney bought most of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets in 2019. The $71.3-billion deal did not include the studio real estate. However, it featured a provision that Disney would move in as a tenant for at least seven years.

James L. Brooks’s production company Gracie Films, which produces the show, has had offices on the lot since the mid-1980s as a result of his 1984 production deal with Fox. It hasn’t been publicly confirmed if Gracie will be relocating to Disney’s lot in Burbank. However, by comparing a 2014 map of the lot with Fox’s future concept plans, it looks like Fox intends to replace the writers’ building (which has a fountain in front) with new production offices (indicated in blue). Here’s a comparison I whipped up:

Recently, executive producer Al Jean, perhaps feeling nostalgic, has been posting photos of the offices on social media:

That building has borne witness to some historic moments in television history, like the time Conan O’Brien and the other writers stuck a huge glob of caramel to the ceiling, and where somebody punched a box. The writers’ room was used as the model for the Itchy & Scratchy writers’ room in the season 4 episode “The Front,” and a cartoon version of the exterior was included in the mobile game Tapped Out.

The Fox lot is also home to the Marge Simpson ADR Stage, where the dialogue is recorded. A big Simpsons mural is on the exterior of Stage 20, and there’s a cafe themed after Moe.

In other news, Fox has renewed The Simpsons for four more seasons, ensuring the show will still have a home on the network until at least 2029.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Jay Sherman, Homer Simpson, and Dr. Janice N!Godatu in front of a Gracie Films placard.

In the wake of the box office success of Snow White, a live-action remake of the 1937 animated classic, Disney is moving forward with another live-action remake of a beloved property that will certainly excite fans. This property just so happens to be a comedy produced by Gracie Films centered around a certain dysfunctional family that premiered in 1989 and features the voice of Dan Castellaneta…

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DIS INFORMATION

The Simpsons on a couch binge-watching.

Disney+ has finally added a live, 24/7, commercial-free Simpsons channel – excuse me, “Stream” with a capital S – freeing users from the tyranny of having to select a specific episode, a brilliant innovation that FXX’s Simpsons World service had over a decade ago.

From the press release:

Beginning today, Disney+ will add a new 24/7 always-on Stream for THE SIMPSONS with 767 episodes across seasons 1-35 programmed in chronological order at launch. This means a total of nearly 300 continuous hours with the Simpsons family.

“From day one, the fans have asked for a Stream of THE SIMPSONS, and we’re happy to oblige,” said Gabe Lewis, SVP of Programming & Content Curation, Disney+. “Streams on Disney+ have been a fantastic go-to experience for subscribers looking to sit back and relax with their favorite shows and movies, and we look forward to evolving the user experience and expanding the offering with more Streams, to more subscribers, later this year.”

“THE SIMPSONS Stream will deliver a SIMPSONS marathon all day, every day — no matter when you tune in, this ultimate SIMPSONS binge will be there,” added Matt Selman, THE SIMPSONS Show-runner and Binge-watcher.

As a pedant I appreciate that they specifically say 767 episodes and never claim to have “every episode,” as “Stark Raving Dad” remains out of circulation. Though this seemingly implies the two Disney+ exclusive episodes (“O C’mon All Ye Faithful” and “The Past and the Furious”) don’t count.

“The Simpsons Stream,” which I guess is its official name, appears to have gone live at noon Eastern time, and is currently airing episodes in sequential order. The press release also says the programming will be “refreshed monthly” so maybe once it completes Season 35 it will become more random. Amazingly, the pre-HD episodes are in the proper 4:3 aspect ratio, even if you have selected otherwise. Currently it is limited to Disney+ users on the premium (ad-free) plan in the United States.

Back in 2014, the Internet went crazy for FXX’s “Every. Simpsons. Ever.” marathon, where everybody could watch and post about the currently-airing episode live. Could history repeat itself? Sure, this simple livestream was like created to boost viewership metrics ahead of Disney’s Q2 earnings report in May. But maybe, just maybe, it could unite and heal a divided nation.

JOCK CENTER

CGI Simpsons football field with the logo for ESPN The Simpsons Funday Football. Ullman-era Homer is about to throw a football while Hans Moleman stands nearby.

For years, football has postponed The Simpsons, but soon you’ll be able to watch both at the same time! In what will surely be a terrible strain on the animators’ wrists, Monday Night Football is heading to Springfield where a live NFL game will be animated and brought into the Simpsons world using advanced VTuber technology.

An ESPN press release has all the details on this grotesque display of corporate synergy:

ESPN, Disney, the Simpsons and the National Football League will premiere The Simpsons Funday Football on Monday, Dec. 9, an animated Monday Night Football game transformed in real-time into the iconic Simpsons world using Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology. Atoms Stadium in Springfield will host the fully immersive fan viewing experience featuring the Cincinnati Bengals at the Dallas Cowboys, ESPN’s Monday Night Football game that evening.

The Simpsons Funday Football alternate viewing presentation will stream on Disney+ and ESPN+, and, on mobile, with NFL+. The traditional Monday Night Football telecast will be available on ESPN, ABC and ESPN Deportes with Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli on ESPN2. Both the traditional telecast and Peyton and Eli will also be on ESPN+, making each distinct presentation available in the ESPN App. All telecasts will begin at 8 p.m. ET.

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NOISELAND ARCADE

Homer and Bart are anguished to see a condemned sign on a chain-link fence. Behind the fence is a screenshot of Springfield from the Tapped Out game.

Electronic Arts has announced the mobile game The Simpsons: Tapped Out will be shut down on January 24, 2025. In-app purchases have already been disabled and the game will be delisted from app stores on October 31, 2024.

In a Facebook post, EA thanked fans for their “remarkable journey” together:

The decision to end our twelve-year journey is an emotional one. Together with our partners at The Simpsons™ and The Walt Disney company, we have delighted in bringing this game to you, the fans, and seeing how you’ve each built your own beloved versions of Springfield. It has been a remarkable journey, and we are grateful that we’ve been able to deliver 308 updates, 831 characters and including today’s final farewell 1,463 questlines.

Launched in 2012, Tapped Out is a “freemium” game that allows players to build their own version of Springfield, with storylines written by actual Simpsons writers. By playing through questlines and acquiring currency, players could obtain buildings and characters to populate their town, and/or purchase them with actual money. That last part is key: just two years after its launch, Tapped Out had generated over $130 million. While its popularity had decreased over the years, it was still making money: according to Statista, the game generated $4.38 million in the first five months of 2024. Critics have opined that such “freemium” games are more akin to video gambling than traditional video games.

While this has not been confirmed, the imminent shutdown of Tapped Out next year could be an indication that EA’s exclusive Simpsons license is expiring after 20 years. The publisher had signed a “long-term, exclusive deal” for the rights back in 2005. It released The Simpsons Game for multiple platforms in 2007, and… that’s been it for The Simpsons on consoles, outside of collaborations with Minecraft and LEGO. A writer for Screen Rant theorized that “considering the success of Tapped Out and the relatively mixed reviews previous Simpsons games received, EA may believe that it doesn’t need to make a new AAA video game based on the license.”

Earlier this year, it was announced that Disney and Epic Games will collaborate on an “all-new games and entertainment universe” featuring “content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more.” Whether The Simpsons will be a part of that universe remains to be seen.

PANEL PIECES

Homer chokes Bart during a Disney Legends animated segment.

The Walt Disney Company recently held its biennial D23 convention celebrating Disney and its various properties, which thanks to corporate consolidation and a lack of antitrust enforcement also includes The Simpsons! Here’s a roundup of all the Simpsons-related stuff.

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SPRINGFIELD SHOPPER

Homer and Bart scream in front of some Simpsons toys

¡Ay, caramba! In a crushing blow to fans, it looks like The Simpsons is coming to an end… collector toy company Super7’s line of Simpsons figures, that is.

Last month, company founder Brian Flynn was interviewed for Robo Don’t Know, where he admitted that “Simpsons did not perform nearly as well as we had hoped” and their relationship with Disney is not moving forward. While figures that were previously announced will still be produced, the Simpsons line (which he says they had a lot of plans for) has been cancelled, along with other Disney properties. Flynn is hopeful that the two companies could work together in the future, but for now they don’t see eye to eye on what is “realistic.”

Super7’s Simpsons line focused more on niche-y, fan-favorite characters rather than, you know, the Simpson family. While that strategy worked on me – I bought the figures of McBain’s ill-fated partner Scoey and Troy McClure with Fuzzy Bunny – perhaps it limited the appeal to more casual fans. Regardless, Simpsons toys aren’t going to rake in Disney Princess money, if that’s what Disney was expecting. It seems to me like Disney doesn’t quite know how to handle The Simpsons; cigarettes were removed from a Krusty figure prior to production, presumably at their request, even though these toys aren’t made for children (beer’s fine, though).

While the loss of the Disney license is surely a blow, Super7 is still working with a number of other properties, running the gamut from Richard Scarry to American Psycho, that will hopefully help them weather industry headwinds.

[Robo Don’t Know h/t Talking Simpsons]

DIS INFORMATION

A Simpsons parody of the Disney castle logo.

As the Walt Disney Company continues to celebrate its 100th anniversary, let us consult the tea leaves and try to speculate just what the entertainment conglomerate wants to do with The Simpsons.

  • CEO Bob Iger recently spoke about the importance of quality over quantity. Sure, he was specifically talking about Marvel’s recent underperformance at the box office, but maybe, just maybe, he was secretly thinking about The Simpsons, which passed the 750 episode mark this year and is only getting more expensive to license.
  • There’s a rumor that 20th Century Studios recently greenlit James L. Brooks’s upcoming film Ella McKay in hopes of convincing him to do a sequel to 2007’s The Simpsons Movie. Maybe that’s true, but 20th and Brooks already have a longstanding relationship (his production company Gracie Films is located on the Fox studio lot) and frankly it doesn’t seem like Brooks would need much convincing (the Disney+ shorts were his idea). As I see it, the main obstacles are that everyone is 16 years older and the circumstances that made the first movie possible have changed.
  • Remember back in 2019 when Matt Groening announced a Disenchantment comic book series? Well, good news, it’s finally being released, four years later and after the show has ended. The podcast Talking Simpsons speculated the delay might’ve been due to behind-the-scenes squabbling between Groening and Disney over Simpsons publishing rights, complicating Groening’s plans for a comics app.
  • Disney Parks chairman Josh D’Amaro claims they have enough space in Anaheim “to build another Disneyland there if we choose to do that.” Might The Simpsons find a home there if the Universal contract is not renewed?