So what’s the deal? According to a tweet by The Verge’s Julia Alexander, it seems that due to various legacy deals that are in place, a small handful of Disney Plus’ catalog will be removed. They are expected to eventually find their way back to the platform once these licenses expire, which unfortunately we have no idea when that will be.
As to why this might be a big deal, this is because Disney had previously promised that the shows on its platform would be “permanent” instead of a “rotating slate” of licensed movies (which is what other platforms are doing). Now this removal suggests that maybe that wasn’t 100% true.
Great story from Polygon. Can confirm that a small handful of Disney movies are running into issues with various legacy deals, and that's why they're being removed. Those movies will rejoin Disney+ permanently once licenses expire with their respective parties. https://t.co/BG1w2ZPmyz
— Julia Alexander (@loudmouthjulia) January 2, 2020
That being said, it doesn’t seem like too many shows have been affected. The reports are claiming that the shows removed, that we know of, include Dr. Doolittle, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Home Alone, Home Alone 2, and The Sandlot.