New Star Wars movies will not premiere on Disney’s upcoming streaming service

By Chris Gates January 7, 2019

Diego Luna as Cassian Andor — Image used with permission by copyright holder

It might look like Disney is positioning Disney+, its upcoming geek-friendly streaming service, as a one-stop spot for everything Star Wars, but if you’re eager to keep tabs on what’s happening in a galaxy far, far away you still need to make the occasional stop at your local box office. While Disney+ will be home to both live action and animated Star Wars television shows, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that original Star Wars feature films will only debut in theaters, not on the small screen.

“We wouldn’t make a Star Wars movie for this platform,” Iger said during an interview with Barron’s. “When everybody goes out on the weekend and you have a movie that opens up to $200 million, there’s a buzz that creates that enhances value. We like that.” Disney+ will be the landing spot for some original films, Iger said, but nothing with a budget in the $100 million-plus range, which seems to take feature-length Star Wars projects out of the running.

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That’s not to say that future Star Wars movies, like The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson’s stand-alone trilogy, won’t make their way to Disney+ eventually, of course. They will simply appear on the streaming service once their theatrical runs are over.

Even so, it sounds like Disney+ will be a must-subscribe for Star Wars fans. Disney is prepping two separate live-action Star Wars shows for the service. The Mandalorian, which stars Pedro Pascal, will bridge the gap between the original Star Wars trilogy and The Force Awakens, while an untitled series based on Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor will function as a Rogue One prequel. In addition, the fan-favorite animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars will return on Disney+ for a final 12-episode season.

It’s not just Star Wars that’s getting a bunch of Disney+ love, either. As previously reported, Disney+ will also host live-action miniseries featuring big-screen Marvel characters like Loki, Scarlet Witch, Falcon, and the Winter Soldier.

Disney+, The Mandalorian, and The Clone Wars revival are all scheduled to launch in late 2019, right around the time that Star Wars: Episode IX will hit theaters and cap off the Skywalker saga for good. That is a lot of Star Wars, so start planning your schedule now: There’s even more — much, much more — currently on the way.

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