Big news for Disney+ subscribers outside the United States! Disney has officially completed the phaseout of its Star brand on Disney+, replacing it with Hulu as the global general entertainment hub across international markets. If you have been wondering what this means for your streaming experience, we have got the details.
The Star brand, which launched on Disney+ internationally back in 2021, served as the home for general entertainment content including shows and movies from ABC, FX, Hulu Originals, and 20th Century Studios. As of October 8, 2025, that Star tile is gone and Hulu has officially taken its place in markets around the world, with the exception of Japan where Disney does not own the Hulu brand. The content itself is not going anywhere, it is simply living under the Hulu name now.
This is all part of Disney’s bigger plan to create what they are calling a “fully integrated unified app experience” in 2026. Essentially, Disney wants Disney+ and Hulu to function as one seamless platform rather than two separate services. The international rebrand is a major step in that direction, building Hulu’s global recognition ahead of the full merger. Disney CEO Bob Iger had confirmed the change was coming during an investors call back in August 2025, and now it is fully in effect.
The Story Behind Disney Replacing Star With Hulu: What It Means for the Future of Streaming
If you are a Disney+ subscriber outside the United States, you have probably noticed some changes to your app recently. The Star tile that has been a fixture of Disney+ internationally since 2021 is now gone, replaced by the familiar green Hulu logo. But this is not just a cosmetic update. It is actually the latest move in a much bigger strategy that Disney has been quietly building toward for years, and it tells us a lot about where streaming is heading.
Where Did Star Come From?
To understand why this change matters, it helps to know a little history. When Disney launched Disney+ in 2019, it was designed primarily around family friendly content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. That left a gap for the massive library of general entertainment content Disney owned through ABC, FX, 20th Century Studios, and eventually Hulu. The solution internationally was a hub called Star, which launched on Disney+ in early 2021 across markets including the UK, Australia, Canada, and much of Europe and Asia. Star gave international subscribers access to that broader content library without Disney having to launch an entirely separate streaming service in each country.
The Star brand worked reasonably well for a few years, but it always felt like a placeholder. The name did not mean much to most viewers, and it had no real brand recognition outside of Disney’s own ecosystem. Meanwhile, Hulu had been building serious brand recognition in the United States for over a decade.
Why Hulu and Why Now?
The timing of this change comes down to one key event. Disney acquired the final third of Hulu from Comcast in 2023, making it the sole owner of the platform for the first time. That changed everything. As long as Comcast was a partial owner of Hulu, Disney had limited ability to expand the brand internationally. Once Disney had full control, the path was clear to start using Hulu as a truly global brand.
Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed during an investors call in August 2025 that Star would be replaced by Hulu internationally in the fall, and that is exactly what happened on October 8, 2025. The content itself did not change at all. Everything that lived under the Star tile now lives under the Hulu tile. The difference is purely in the branding, but that branding shift is the foundation for something much bigger coming in 2026.
What Is the Unified App and When Is It Coming?
Disney has been talking about a “fully integrated unified app experience” for a while now, and 2026 is the year it is supposed to happen. The idea is that Disney+ and Hulu in the United States will eventually function as a single platform rather than two separate apps. Instead of bouncing between the Disney+ app and the Hulu app depending on what you want to watch, everything will live in one place.
The international rebrand of Star to Hulu is directly connected to this. By establishing Hulu as the global general entertainment brand now, Disney is laying the groundwork for a consistent worldwide streaming experience once the US merger is complete. When the unified app launches, international subscribers will already be familiar with the Hulu brand inside Disney+, making the transition smoother.
What Does This Mean for US Subscribers?
If you are in the United States, nothing changes right now. The standalone Hulu app remains fully accessible, and Disney+ continues to operate as its own separate service. However, Disney has confirmed that the standalone Hulu app will eventually be sunset as the unified platform rolls out. The timeline for that is still being finalized, but the direction is clear. At some point in the not too distant future, there will be one Disney streaming app that contains everything, from Disney and Pixar classics to Marvel and Star Wars content to FX dramas and Hulu Originals, all under one roof.
Is This Good News for Disney+ Subscribers?
For most subscribers the answer is yes. A unified platform means less app switching, a cleaner content discovery experience, and a single subscription that covers a much broader range of programming. The challenge for Disney will be making sure the app itself is intuitive enough to handle such a massive content library without becoming overwhelming. Anyone who has tried to find something specific on a streaming service with thousands of titles knows that good navigation design matters enormously.
Disney has a strong track record of improving its streaming products over time, and the investment it is making in building out this unified experience suggests it takes the challenge seriously. The next few months will be very telling as more updates roll out and the 2026 merger gets closer.
The streaming wars are far from over, and Disney is clearly playing a long game. Are you a Disney+ subscriber outside the US, and what do you think of the switch from Star to Hulu? Let us know in the comments!
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