BURBANK, CALIFORNIA (BLOOMBERG) – Walt Disney Co is releasing the latest Star Wars film on its Disney+ streaming service months two sooner than expected – the latest sign that the coronavirus is accelerating the shift toward home viewing.
“The Rise of Skywalker” will be available for streaming on May 4, the company said Monday (April 27), less than five months after it opened in theaters. The film has been available for purchase or rental since March 13, a date that was also moved up because so many people are stuck at home due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Hollywood has historically stuck to a strict schedule for films going from theaters to homes. But the virus has closed cinemas and upended that.
Pixar’s “Onward,” released in theaters on March 6, moved to Disney+ this month, when it would normally be available only on big screens. “Artemis Fowl,” about a 12-year-old criminal mastermind, will skip theaters entirely and appear on the service in June.
With cinemas around the world shuttered, Hollywood is looking at a disastrous 2020, though Disney still plans theatrical releases this year for some its potentially biggest films, such as “Mulan” and “Black Widow.”
Disney+, meanwhile, has signed up more than 50 million subscribers globally since its debut in November, a rollout that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings acknowledged was “stunning.”
With film and TV production also shut down, it will be a challenge for Disney to create new content for its various outlets.
The Fourth Disney’s Lucasfilm, which the company bought in 2012, is marketing the Star Wars release with its typical promotional fervor.
The studio has long promoted events around May 4 as Star Wars Day – employing the pun “May the 4th be with you.” Disney+ subscribers will be able to watch all eight of the previous films in the Skywalker saga before the latest one drops.
The company’s least-successful Star Wars movie, “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” is the only one in the movie series still playing on Netflix.
They’ll also be able to stream the season finale of the animated series “Clone Wars,” as well as an eight-part documentary about the making of the Star Wars live-action series “The Mandalorian” that’s as long as the first season of the series itself.
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