What's New On Disney+ For April 2021

Marvel

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (episodes 3-6, of 6)

The first Marvel Studios series, WandaVision, promoted two supporting characters to stardom while setting up a new character to be a supporting character in future movies. The second series is doing the same, giving the starring roles to Captain America’s sidekicks Sam “Falcon” Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky “Winter Soldier” Barnes (Sebastian Stan), while also introducing a breakout supporting character in John Walker (Wyatt Russell), a jingoistic, my-country-right-or-wrong type who’s been chosen by the government as the next Captain America. Will Sam become Captain America in the end? Will Walker end by taking on a different superhero identity? The only thing we can predict is that everyone will get a new costume and a new tie-in toy based on that costume. New episodes drop on Friday mornings, with the final episode arriving April 23.

Marvel Studios Assembled (Friday, April 30)

A behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, to fill the insatiable need for Marvel content while they’re getting ready to roll out the next series, Loki.

Disney

Big Shot (Beginning Friday, April 16)

No, this isn’t the Disney series about a lovable ragtag hockey team; that was last month’s The Mighty Ducks: Game Changer. This series is about a lovable ragtag basketball team. TV’s John Stamos, the man who cannot age, is down on his luck after being kicked out of pro basketball, but gets his “big shot” to turn his life around when he accepts a job coaching basketball at an all-girls school. There, he helps the girls bring out their hidden potential and maybe, just maybe, he’ll learn something about himself, too.

National Geographic

Earth Moods (Beginning Friday, April 16)

Disney’s acquisition of National Geographic allowed it to have some quiet, relaxing content to remind you that not everything on this planet is terrible. This five episode series is intended to be a placid experience, with the filmmakers traveling around the world to get footage of the most soothing, calming and non-stress-inducing sights they can find, both in the natural and man-made world. The episode titles are “Frozen Calm,” “Night Lights,” “Tropical Serenity,” “Desert Solitude” and “Peaceful Patterns.”

Secrets of the Whales (Thursday, April 22)

Released on a Thursday, for once, in honour of Earth Day, this four-episode documentary series is narrated by Sigourney Weaver and excecutive-produced by James Cameron. The secrets in question are the way whales communicate with one another. The creative team spent three years filming five different types of whales to give us a fuller picture of how they manage to “speak,” while of course providing lots of footage that will reinforce National Geographic’s reputation as the soothing section of Disney+.

Star

Nomadland (Friday, April 9)

Americans with a Hulu subscription already got this acclaimed film from writer/director Chloé Zhao. Hulu-free countries like ours can now see why the film is nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress for star and co-producer Frances McDormand. In this fictionalized version of the nonfiction book of the same name by Jessica Bruder (though with some of the real people from the book appearing as themselves), McDormand leaves her home town after her husband dies and its economy collapses; she becomes one of many rootless people in modern-day America who lives wherever she can find work, and meets a group of organized nomads who provide a supportive community for people who no longer have a physical community to call their own.