Why Marvel movies on Disney Plus jump from black-bar widescreen to full screen
As Netflix, Disney Plus, Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max, Peacock, and the rest of the streaming services vie for attention, new hooks for the home-entertainment viewing experience have emerged, from high-definition picture to deluxe sound and elaborate ways to watch stuff with friends. But perhaps the most well-intentioned-but-confusing feature to roll out in the post-pandemic years is Disney Plus’ “IMAX Enhanced” viewing experience. Bolstered by a recognizable theatrical brand name, the feature popped up on Disney Plus in late 2021, and by the looks of it, continues to perplex casual customers.
What is IMAX Enhanced? And why does it cause Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to suddenly switch from black-bar widescreen to a fullscreen aspect ratio randomly throughout the movie? The short answer is: This is how the movie was actually made — but you can turn it off.
IMAX Enhanced launched on Disney Plus on Nov. 12, 2021 with the premiere of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and was enabled with 12 other Marvel movies: Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and The Wasp, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Widow. Subsequent Marvel releases like Eternals, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Thor: Love and Thunder have all had the feature at rollout.
The collaboration between Disney and IMAX promised that any film viewed in the IMAX Enhanced format would expand into the 1.90:1 aspect ratio when appropriate, adding “26% more picture for select sequences — meaning more of the action is visible on screen, just as the filmmakers intended,” Disney said in a news release at the
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