Grab your Army Bomb and prepare yourselves as the world's biggest boy band meets one of the world's biggest entertainment companies. According to THR, Disney+ has signed on to produce three projects for their streaming service featuring Korean pop sensation BTS. Exciting news for those accustomed to waking up at all hours of the night to catch a new glimpse at the seven pop stars.
BTS — comprised of members Kim Namjoon ("RM"), Kim Seokjin ("Jin"), Min Yoongi ("Suga"), Jung Hoseok ("J-Hope"), Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung ("V") and Jeong Jungkook — took the world by storm in the 9 years since their debut. The last few years, in particular, have seen a massive upswing in popularity for the band, who have endeared themselves to their fans (ARMY, as we're known) both through their ridiculously catchy music, and through the message of self-love and acceptance they maintain both on and off the stage.
In late 2021 and early 2022, the septet performed a series of sold-out concerts in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Seoul entitled BTS Permission to Dance on Stage. Their LA concerts were the first occasion they had to perform for a crowd since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first of their three shows starring BTS, Disney+ has turned one of the LA shows into a 4K concert film, which means fans can rewatch the gorgeous "Black Swan" choreography to their heart's content, or else replay some of the more dynamic group numbers in hopes of mastering the moves for themselves.
The second series, titled In the Soop: Friendcation is a spin-off of the popular In the Soop reality series that saw the BTS boys take some time off from city life to stay at a house in the countryside and engage in various activities and challenges. The Disney+ version will feature band member V and four of his friends — Park Seo-jun (Itaewon Class), Choi Woo-shik (Parasite), Park Hyung-sik (Happiness), and rapper Peakboy. The four-episode series will premiere on July 22, 2022, on South Korea's JTBC before appearing on Disney+ two hours later.
Finally, Disney+ will produce BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star, a docuseries following the rise of the band through the use of their back catalog of music and archival footage. It should be something of a nostalgic trip for fans, as the band is currently on hiatus — though, as they have stressed many times, they are not breaking up. Unlike the other two shows coming to the streamer, the series will be exclusive to Disney+ and is expected to premiere sometime next year.
The partnership between the streaming giant and BTS is just the beginning. Park Ji-won, CEO of BTS's record label Hybe expressed excitement that this marked the beginning of a partnership between the global brand and his roster of artists. Of the collaboration, Jessica Kam-Engle, Disney’s APAC head of content said:
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Hybe to showcase their original content created with powerful artist IP on our global streaming services including Disney+. This collaboration represents our creative ambition – to work with iconic content creators and top stars in Asia Pacific so their talent can be enjoyed by mainstream audiences in multiple ways. We believe these new titles will captivate consumers worldwide and look forward to introducing more music content on our service.”
Since BTS recently announced they would be taking a hiatus from recording as a group, this new deal with Disney+ seems like the perfect way for fans to spend some time with the boys while they're on break. While waiting for the series to premiere, you can check out their latest music video "Yet To Come" below: