Disney+ has been putting out mature content on its international platforms for some time under, with parental control passwords being the norm. However, in the U.S. Disney+ has always been seen as a safe, family orientated place where children can roam free without seeing anything untoward. That changed when Marvel’s former Netflix shows became part of the Disney+ family and parental password controls became a thing and caused a backlash from a number of child safety groups and parents who were not happy at the shift. Now Disney CEO Bob Chapek has hinted that there could be more R-rated content coming in future as the company continues to delve into more mature markets.

Disney have their fingers in a lot of pies, and while their original content was all based on good wholesome family entertainment that has adapted over the years as The Walt Disney Company has acquired a number of other studios and production companies. Over the years this has included content put out on Hulu, such as Pam & Tommy and The Kardashians, and the most recent arrival of Fox properties such as the Alien and Predator franchises, as well as the likes of Die Hard and other action franchises. Although much of this content has been on Disney+ in Europe and other territories under the Star banner, similar content could soon be joining Disney+ in the U.S. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Chapek commented:

"I want to respect what this brand is. But at the same time, I know that we may be even more precious about what is 'Disney' than the consumer base is. If the consumer base has more elasticity, we probably ought to listen to our audience, which means we have more degrees of freedom than we probably thought."

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Back in July, the Parent Television and Media Council slammed Disney for making the likes of Deadpool and Logan available no Disney+. Even though the platform has carried this kind of content outside the U.S. since its inception, the arrival of R-rated and TV-MA content and parental passwords didn’t go down well with some. In a statement at the time the PTC said:

"Three years ago, the Walt Disney Company made a promise to families: No R-rated movies on Disney+, they said. It’s a family-focused platform, they said. We have Hulu for our edgier adult fare, they said. It turns out they were lying to us. After decades of corporate brilliance establishing itself as the world’s most trusted brand for families, today’s C-level suite at Disney has decided to flush it all down the toilet."

In the main, Disney+ is not going to come crashing down because of incorporating some more mature content to its U.S. platform, and while the content is sharing space with some animated favorites and PG-13 MCU content, parental controls simply mean that any non-child friendly content can still be kept away from young eyes. As this has not created problems for Disney so far, there is no reason to believe that Disney+ is going to suffer in the long-term as it continues to expand into new areas.