Following Disney’s recent decision to remove more than 60 titles, including The Quest from Disney+, Hulu, and Hotstar on May 26, the director of the movie has responded.
The Quest is a ground-breaking, immersive, hybrid competition series that drops eight real-life teenagers (Paladins) into the fantastic, fictional world of Everealm, where they must save a Kingdom by fulfilling an ancient prophecy.
Throughout the eight-episode series, these heroes are immersed in a fantasy world that comes to life complete with a castle, royals, ethereal Fates, all forms of mystical creatures, and a Sorceress intent on destruction and power.
In light of the recent announcement that The Quest will be taken off Disney+ later this month, the series’ executive producers, Harvey Fleming, and Mark Ordesky, have issued a public statement to their fanbase, known as The Quest Army, regarding the show’s impending removal.
Read More: Doctor Cha Season 1 Episodes 13 and 14 Release Date, Time and Where to Watch
Dearest Quest Army, Like you, we found out yesterday that #THEQUEST would be pulled from Disney+. To say we are disappointed would be an understatement.
We are sorry that you, our most loyal fans, can no longer watch it, that new fans can’t discover the wonder and joy in its DNA, and that our award-winning team who worked tirelessly to put together such a beautiful and inspired series can no longer point to their achievement.
Sadly, we were told that there just weren’t enough people engaging with the show to justify its inclusion on the platform and Disney+ decided to remove it, alongside other great content, as a write-off.
We are forever grateful for your enthusiasm, support and love of THE QUEST. Everealm will live on in your imaginations and ours. Gratefully, Jane and Mark
[Unfortunately Disney owns the IP so unless they want to make another season through one of their subsidiaries, we have reached the end of the road.
The move, which comes with a content impairment charge of $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion, was announced during the recent Disney earnings call on May 10.
An impairment charge refers to the accounting method used when an asset’s current market value has fallen below its original cost or book value, indicating that it has lost some of its initial worth. In other words, Disney is writing off the content.
By removing certain titles, Disney stands to save money, as they will no longer be obligated to pay ongoing residual payments and licensing fees. In addition, Disney may also consider removing some content to establish licensing agreements with other companies such as Netflix, HBO, etc., thereby generating extra revenue.
Read More: 20th Century Studios’ “Amateur” Adds Rachel Brosnahan, Caitríona Balfe & Laurence Fishburne
Disney’s decision to remove content parallels a preceding action by Warner Bros. Discovery, headed by David Zaslav, which also pulled a selection of titles from HBO Max. This list included shows like Westworld, The Nevers, Generation, FBoy Island, Legendary, The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Gordita Chronicles, Raised by Wolves, and more.
This move was part of an attempt to cease financing library titles that were not meeting performance standards. The company subsequently granted Roku and Tubi the rights to many of these same shows through a number of licensing agreements, thereby further monetizing programming that had previously failed to achieve expected success.