Disney’s new streaming series, “The Mandalorian,” is set to become the most pirated show of 2019. That doesn’t come as much of a surprise due to the advertising blitz behind Disney+ and the popularity of the Star Wars brand, but the show has received an incredible response on torrent sites, which began serving HD rips within hours of the service’s debut. Disney is trying to contain the damage with takedown requests, but with The Mandalorian being exclusive to a few select regions, the piracy is especially rampant.
The fact that Disney+ isn’t available in many countries is similar to HBO’s situation when Game of Thrones first came out. This serves as a piracy incentive. After all, people who want to watch Mandalorian in the UK, Australia, and elsewhere, have few other options than to pirate. The limited release of Disney+ may actually breed some new pirates. Even worse, there is a chance that many of these pirates may not go legal when the streaming service officially launches in their country.