It has long been obvious that Disney+ will be a must for Star Wars fans, but that has become even more evident the more we hear about it. Tonight, there was a ton of information announced about projects coming to the platform, and it sounds incredible.
First things first, the platform will launch on November 12 of this year and will cost $6.99 a month, or $69.99 a year. For those who are familiar with other streaming services, that’s a fantastic deal – especially considering the content that will be included.
Especially from a Star Wars standpoint, there’s absolutely zero doubt in my mind that this will be an investment well worth making. Here’s what has been revealed about what you can expect:
- EVERY STAR WARS FILM. All of the Star Wars films will make their way to Disney+ within the first year. It sounds like eight of the ten films will probably be there at launch, with The Last Jedi and Solo making their way to the platform once they are taken off of Netflix. But this will be a place where, within the first year, you’ll have access to every Star Wars movie that’s been made.
- THE MANDALORIAN. Of course, one of the biggest things that’s coming is a brand new live-action Star Wars TV show – the first one ever, to be exact. This seems to be one of the major staples that will be coming at launch, and it was confirmed today that the show will indeed be available on the platform at launch. It sounds like the first episode will be available at first, suggesting that this may be a weekly release.
- THE CASSIAN ANDOR SHOW. Additionally, another live-action Star Wars show will be coming in 2021 and will feature Cassian Andor and K-2SO in a Rogue One prequel series. Like with The Mandalorian, this will release straight to Disney+.
- THE CLONE WARS. The biggest deal here is that there will be a seventh season of The Clone Wars premiering on the platform, but the other six seasons will also be on there (and presumably The Clone Wars movie as well).
- REBELS. I didn’t hear anything officially announced regarding Rebels, but an image of the Star Wars hub on the Disney+ platform showed the logo for Rebels. And it makes sense, too. So it seems that Rebels will be coming.
- FUTURE PROJECTS. At the announcement tonight, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy apparently confirmed that future Star Wars projects, both animated and live-action, are in development for Disney+. That’s super exciting. I wonder if one of those shows may be about a beloved Jedi Master…?
- DOCUMENTARY. Kennedy also announced that there is a docuseries in the works about the people behind Star Wars. I’ve loved all of the documentaries detailing how Star Wars is made, so this sounds pretty cool. It’s just yet another project coming for Disney+ that sounds pretty great.
There’s no word about whether Resistance will also be on the platform, but given that pretty much everything else Star Wars is on there, I’d say it’s a pretty sure bet. I just don’t know whether the show will be uploaded regularly or whether it will be uploaded all at once after the season airs, since it will still be on Disney Channel.
I mean, take all of that in – and you can get all of that for $6.99 a month. That’s crazy good value. I absolutely cannot wait for this!
And in case you’re interested in more than just Star Wars, there will be plenty more too. The way the service will be configured is similar to Netflix in that it suggests recommendations for viewers, but it will also have five different hubs for fans to check out: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. You will be able to watch it on SmartTVs, mobile devices, computers, game consoles, and Roku and Sony platforms, and all content will be available for offline download. Bob Iger gave a look at what the front page might look like:
Within the first year, there will be over 500 films and over 7,500 episodes for viewers to indulge in. This includes all the Star Wars stuff mentioned earlier, but also a ton of Marvel stuff (including several new live-action shows that have been announced), a ton of Disney films (including new projects developed for the platform), all of the Pixar films, and The Simpsons, among many other things.
Disney+ sounds incredible, and I can’t wait for all of it. But even looking purely from a Star Wars perspective, this thing is going to be epic and very worthwhile.
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