Now that the streaming service has a name, the marketing for Disney+ has really begun… Along with some inklings of how it will work.
Per Vulture’s Josef Adalian, Star Wars will be one of the “five central content hubs” for the service (along with classic Disney, Marvel, Pixar and National Geographic) so there won’t be much need for Netflix-style scrolling.
We also know that they’re aiming for the monthly price to be less than Netflix (cheapest plan: $7.99). Disney’s ESPN+ streaming service, which launched earlier this year, currently charges $4.99 a month. So I suspect we’ll be looking at something that’ll run fans $5-7 a month. (And maybe even some savings if bundled with an ESPN+ or Hulu subscription?)
But! The content. What’s coming for Star Wars? Here’s what we know for sure, some speculation about what else may be in play, and what we definitely won’t see.
The Mandalorian
The first live-action Star Wars show is filming now, which means it will likely go up with the service at launch. (Expected to be late 2019.) It’s set after Return of the Jedi.
The Cassian Andor spy show
No one expected a second live-action show annoucement so soon, but here we are. Diego Luna is back to reprise his Rogue One role in this Empire-era series that could also conceivably have appearances from any number of characters active in that era, from films to cartoons to comics to books – though of course, our biggest hope is that Alan Tudyk’s K-2S0 also comes along. There’s no release date for this one yet, but I expect we won’t see it until well after The Mandalorian debuts.
The Clone Wars S7
The much-wished-for continuation of the prequel-era cartoon will finish off the animated series as originally intended – or something close to that, anyway. I also expect that the full run of the show will migrate here. (It’s currently on Netflix, which debuted the previous “last season” back in 2014.) This also seems likely to go up at launch.
Newer Star Wars movies
With the bulk of the saga locked into a deal with TBS/TNT, expect to see the newer films (beginning with Episode IX) to stream there for a limited time, ala the current new release deal with Netflix and the previous one with premium cable channel Starz. Then they’ll move on to Turner – at least through 2024.
The likely
It seems like a foregone conclusion that Star Wars Rebels, Forces of Destiny and Star Wars Resistance will be on the service. All three shows already exist within the Disney ecosystem. (I assume the LEGO stuff would go as well, but I also fully admit that is Not My Division.)
The long shots
Personally, I’d love to see Genndy Tartakovsky’s original traditionally animated Clone Wars series, for my money the best looking of all the cartoons, but Lucasfilm hasn’t officially acknowledged that one in a while. (Just stick a Legends label on it, guys.) And what about the Ewoks and Droids cartoons from the ’80s? The Star Wars Holiday Special? Okay, probably not that one.