Nashville, TN — August 16, 2024 — Disney is going back to Folsom Prison. In a major coup for music documentaries, Disney+ has announced an expansive, multi-part docuseries on the life and legacy of Johnny Cash, drawing from never-before-released footage from the Cash family archives and 20th Century Fox’s vaults (now owned by Disney). Titled Johnny Cash: The Man in Black, the series is slated for a 2026 release, coinciding with what would have been Cash’s 94th birthday.
The project marks Disney’s latest push into prestige music docs following The Beatles: Get Back and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. But unlike the 2005 Oscar-winning biopic Walk the Line, this series will dive deeper—exploring Cash’s activism, struggles with addiction, and late-career resurgence with Rick Rubin. A source close to production confirms the Cash estate is fully onboard, granting access to private home videos, unheard demos, and contentious studio sessions.
What to Expect in the Series
- “The Lost ’90s Comeback” – Rare footage of Cash recording American Recordings in his living room, including scrapped tracks with Tom Petty and Willie Nelson.
- “June & Johnny: The Duets We Never Heard” – Unearthed tapes of Johnny and June Carter Cash’s unreleased collaborations.
- “Folsom: The Full Story” – Behind-the-scenes turmoil of the iconic 1968 prison concert, including angry memos from Columbia Records fearing a “career-killing stunt.”
- “The Dylan Sessions” – Cash’s fiery, unfinished 1969 album with Bob Dylan, abandoned due to creative clashes.
Why Now?
- Disney owns Fox’s Walk the Line rights, allowing seamless integration of film clips.
- Gen Z’s folk/country revival (see: Noah Kahan, Zach Bryan) makes Cash’s rebel spirit newly relevant.
- Political parallels—Cash’s prison reform advocacy will be framed against modern justice debates.
The Cash Family’s Role
John Carter Cash, the Man in Black’s son, will executive produce, calling the series “the unfiltered truth—not the myth, not the movie, but the man.” Expect jaw-dropping revelations, including:
- How Johnny almost quit music after June’s death.
- His secret 2002 collaboration with Kanye West (yes, really).
- The real story behind his iconic SNL performance where he flipped off the censors.
Disney’s Big Bet
The series will be a six-episode event, directed by Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Going Clear: Scientology). Stylistically, it aims for *”Ken Burns meets *The Dirt“—mixing raw archival footage with holographic concert recreations (a tech Disney patented for The Mandalorian).
Release Strategy:
- Theatrical preview – A one-night-only Fathom Events screening of Episode 1.
- Soundtrack – A deluxe box set of 60+ unreleased tracks, including Cash’s haunting post-9/11 poem set to music.
What’s Next?
Rumors suggest Disney is also developing:
- A June Carter Cash spin-off.
- A virtual reality “Ring of Fire” concert experience for Meta Quest.
“This isn’t just a documentary,” says a Disney Music Group exec. “It’s a cultural exhumation.”
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black streams on Disney+ in early 2026.
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