Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
We knew this day would come, but it’s almost on us: Rogue One will become the first Star Wars film on Netflix next month. (In the U.S., anyway.)
The only question? When will the rest of Star Wars join it? The Force Awakens is presumably still tied up with Starz, but the streaming fate of the other six films is still a big question mark… Assuming you don’t already own them digitally.
If you’ve been meaning to watch (or rewatch) The Clone Wars cartoon on Netflix, looks like it’s time to stop procrastinating. Per one eagle-eyed fan, the series will only be streaming on the service through March 3. The good news is, as of this post, you have just under a month to watch all 121 episodes.
The series has been streaming since March 7, 2014, when Netflix debuted the show’s final season. It’s been the only official Star Wars content on the streaming service in the U.S. (Rogue One – at least – will be coming later this year, under Disney’s current deal.)
Blu-rays of the show are still fairly easy to get hold of – including a 2013 box set of the first 5 seasons. But I’ve seen some speculation (nothing solid) that this could mean a new box set is coming. After all, we do have that 40th anniversary coming up…
UPDATE: Looks like The Clone Wars is staying put… For now.
Netflix announced today that come September, they will be “the exclusive U.S. pay TV home of the latest films from Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar.” The date is new, but the deal itself is old news, as is one key fact: The Force Awakens is the last film under Disney’s former deal with Starz, which means it’ll first run on the traditional pay cable channel in the U.S.
Unless you’re in Canada, Rogue One will be the first Star Wars to have first-run on Netflix, alongside Disney’s other 2016 releases, like The Jungle Book (above,) Zootopia, and Captain America: Civil War.
The Force Awakens will be having its pay-cable debut on Starz. It’s the last film in the premium cable network’s deal with Disney, which will be taking their future films to Netflix.
There were earlier rumors that Netflix may have tried to buy out Starz in order to debut all seven Star Wars at once, but they came to nothing. (Unless you happen to be in Canada, where Netflix will stream The Force Awakens – but no word on the rest of Star Wars, which is currently only available digitally for purchase.)
We still await word on when the older Star Wars films will return to basic cable – Spike TV’s previous deal is either already up or expires very soon, and in any case they haven’t aired the movies in a couple of years. My money is on Disney taking them to ABC Family/Freeform, which loves them a Harry Potter or Hunger Games marathon, but time will tell.
Netflix in Canada will be getting The Force Awakens to stream in 2016, reports Variety – but that’s it, at least so far. In the U.S., the film will likely debut on Starz instead; Netflix’s deal here begins with 2016 films.
A couple years ago, Disney and Netflix signed an agreement that will bring their movies exclusively to Netflix Instant beginning in 2016. But because it opens in 2015, that means The Force Awakens falls under Disney’s previous deal with Starz. But could it come to Netflix instead – maybe along with the rest of the saga? That may be enough reason for Disney to negotiate it away from Starz, Screencrush reports.
Disney CEO Bob Iger tried to downplay box office expectations for The Force Awakens on the company’s earnings call yesterday – a wise movie, as the speculation seems more and more out of hand every time it comes up. (Mostly.)
In less tedious speculation, anyone keeping up with the latest live-action show rumors will be happy to hear what Iger to is saying regarding Netflix. In an interview with CNBC, he talked about “taking advantage of Netflix’s great growth” and that they’ve come forward as “an aggressive buyer of original programming.”
Today’s hottest Star Wars rumor comes from Cinelinx, where Jordan Maison says he’s heard that there’s still movement happening on live-action TV – and not just one series, but three.
It’s not a shock that Lucasfilm would follow in the footsteps of corporate stepsibling Marvel, who debuted Daredevil, the first of four limited series, on Netflix earlier this year.
We don’t know what (or who) the Star Wars ones would cover, but Jordan is guessing they might begin about 2017.
I’m still not thrilled with the idea of yet more TV, but a Netflix series may be the least annoying way to do it: Drop a complete set of 12-13 episodes, let it marinate for a few months, then drop something new. Of course, it all ultimately depends on what they do with it…
I’m going to be straight with you: I only the barest idea of what a ‘4K print’ meant, and had to look it up. (“Ultra HD” blah blah blah definitioncakes.) Honestly, I’m not even sure I care now; I’m just not that kind of geek. But rumors have been swirling that new scans of the Star Wars films are in the works, and today Chris Argyropoulos of Lucasfilm PR tweeted the above picture of Skywalker Sound folks working some mojo on Return of the Jedi.
I suppose it’s feasible this is some sort of standard demo they do, but it’s fueled the rumors that a new release of the films may be imminent. A digital release would be good; the fact that the films aren’t on Netflix and similar services could hinder more than help as we get closer and closer to the new films. All I know is, if that’s what a Lucasfilm PR guy is hinting at, we’ll probably hear something soon.
Of course, he’s denied it’s anything like that, but c’mon, Chris. You know this fandom. ;)
Last pic not 4 any new/special release. Just good old fashioned interviews with out-of-towners. Always fun having 1st timers @ the Ranch! :)
— Chris Argyropoulos (@ThatChrisA) July 29, 2014
Dave Filoni tells Entertainment Weekly that the last arc of The Clone Wars is George Lucas’ “last statement about Yoda and The Force and how things fit together” and “absolutely must-watch story content.”
We tried several seasons to tell a Yoda arc, but the problem is he’d come in and be able to solve a problem in five minutes. In the end, George finally decided to tell a big story about The Force and the balance of The Force and what it means when some people appear after they die and some don’t. Fans have long wondered about that. This goes a long way to explaining that issue. These are things that were the backbone of his Jedi ideas. How can a Star Wars fan not get excited by that?
Filoni also touches on Order 66 and what the future may hold for the untold Clone Wars stories. Be warned, there is another small spoiler in the interview, so it may be best to read this only after you watch the final arc.
The 13 ‘Lost Missions’ episodes are streaming on Netflix now, along with the show’s first 5 seasons and debut movie.