Star Wars will debut on the big-screen only going forward.
Disney+ is going to be a whole-ass package, my friends. Disney's upcoming streaming service aims to compete with the mighty Netflix by offering access to all the studio's classic animated films, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, and every Star Wars movie, alongside original content like Jon Favreau's Star Wars series The Mandalorian and the still-rumored Loki series starring Tom Hiddleston. With all that and likely more, the media giant had to draw the line somewhere.
That line, according to Disney CEO Bob Iger, is a hypothetical future scenario in which a brand new Star Wars movie debuts on the streaming platform first, much like big-budget films like Mowglior Bright did on Netflix. Speaking to Barrons [via Slashfilm], Iger's reasoning basically boils down to "whyyy would we do that when even Solo made $214 million at the domestic box office."
Image via Disney, Lucasfilm
“Almost every movie the studio makes is a $100 million-plus movie, and we’re not looking to make movies at that level for the service. We’re looking to invest significantly in television series on a per-episode business, and we’re looking to make movies that are higher-budget, but nothing like that.
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We wouldn’t make a Star Wars movie for this platform. 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. And eventually, the movies we’re making are going to [end up on] the service.”
That isn't to say that Disney+ won't be debuting original films. The Anna Kendrick-starring Christmas comedy Noelle is headed for the platform, as is a live-action reimagining of Lady and the Trump starring Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux. (And a bunch of real dogs, apparently!) Meanwhile, Star Wars Episode IX, director J.J. Abrams' trilogy-capper, will hit a non-streaming theater on December 20.
