Marvel Studios will take a new direction for the MCU's next Disney+ show by giving it a historic two-part release when it arrives. Over the years, Marvel has had an up-and-down run with its streaming releases, regularly adjusting its plans for how to deliver these streaming stories to the public. Now, with Phase 5 about to end with a new episodic adventure, that trend continues to be a factor.
Marvel Studios confirmed that Ironheart will be released in two parts (three episodes each) for its run on Disney+. This is the first time Marvel Studios has utilized this kind of release schedule, giving Ironheart one of the quickest runs for any long-form episodic Disney+ series in MCU history.
Ironheart's first three episodes will hit Disney+ on Tuesday, June 24. After that, Marvel Studios reported that the final three episodes will all be released simultaneously one week later on Tuesday, July 1. This marks the first time any Disney+ Original show has been released in two parts, taking only two weeks to complete its run on the streaming platform.
This decision seems to have been made partly in reaction to the viewership underperformance of Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, with its weekly release schedule, combined with the strong audience ratings that Andor Season 2 had with its three-episode-per-week release schedule.
Ahead are the other specific release strategies the MCU has used for past Disney+ shows:
The 5 Main Ways Marvel Studios Has Released Its Disney+ Shows
Full-Season Binge Release
- Echo
To date, only one MCU series has utilized the full-season binge release method, which happened with Echo's debut on Disney+ and Hulu in early 2024. Only five episodes long, the entire season was available for viewing on January 9, 2024, allowing fans to enjoy the entire story of Alaqua Cox's Maya Lopez right away.
This seemed to be done in an effort to get Echo out quickly, as the show did not have positive reports before its debut. Fans heard about struggles with development behind the scenes, and the lead-up to its release did not garner much hype. To combat this, Marvel got the entire series out in one day, and it ended up helping the series perform better than initial expectations had predicted.
Daily Release
- What If...? Season 2
- What If...? Season 3
The only series in the MCU to use a daily release schedule is What If...?, which used this method in the show's last two seasons. This was done to help combat low viewing numbers in Season 1, allowing the series to have just over a week of runtime while also giving fans a diminished wait period for the end of the show.
For Seasons 2 and 3, What If...? had one episode released per day over eight or nine days. This allowed each 20-30-minute episode a day to shine, and fans who wanted to binge the whole series could also do so with only minimal wait time.
Traditional Release (1 Episode Per Week)
- The Falcon and Winter Soldier
- Loki Season 1
- Loki Season 2
- What If...? Season 1
- Moon Knight
- Ms. Marvel
- She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
Unsurprisingly, the weekly release model is the most commonly used release strategy for Marvel Studios' run on Disney+. For seven seasons of programming from Marvel Studios on Disney+, episodes have been released weekly, with one episode debuting on the streaming network at a time.
The earliest show to use this strategy was The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the MCU's second-ever Disney+ series, which arrived in March 2021. The most recent series to use a weekly release schedule was 2022's nine-episode efforts on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, but with so many changes to Marvel Studios' streaming practices since then, that was the last time the classic release plan was used.
2-Episode Premiere Followed by Weekly Release*
- WandaVision
- Hawkeye
- X-Men '97
- Daredevil: Born Again* (Released two episodes at once in Week 4)
- Agatha All Along* (Released final two episodes at once)
A handful of Disney+ shows from the MCU have taken their own approach to the release schedule, coming hot off the plate with a two-episode premiere. From there, most of them have continued with one episode per week, giving each story a fairly extensive timeframe to enjoy the spotlight on Disney's streaming platform.
The only shows to use a different version of this strategy came in the last few years. Daredevil: Born Again had a two-episode premiere and later had another pair of episodes debut on the same day (Episodes 5 and 6). Then, Agatha All Along had two-episode drops for both its first and final weeks on Disney+, starting and ending the story with extended adventures.
2-Episode Premiere Followed by Hybrid Part-Weekly Release (3-3-2)
- Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man entered the MCU riddled with negativity, with reports describing behind-the-scenes issues that led to the show's delay for years. When it finally premiered in January 2025, it did so with a release schedule unlike anything the MCU had seen at that time.
Running for a four-week timeframe in January and February, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man premiered two episodes simultaneously in its first and last weeks, while three-episode drops came in the second and third weeks. Due to each episode's short runtime, fans were able to binge these episodes easily and complete the series' entire 10-episode slate with minimal effort.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
