There’s been an awakening on Disney+. Have you felt it? It’s not the dark side, but countless Disney and Star Wars fans asking when the House of Mouse might release The Rise of Skywalker on the streaming service. Unfortunately, Disney hasn’t answered this question just yet, and if the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga follows the usual theater-to-Disney+ release window, fans might have a while to go before the movie actually hits Disney+.
This situation is unprecedented, of course. This will be the first time a new Star Wars movie has released from the theater to Disney+. Before the new streaming service launched in November 2019, Star Wars movies appeared on Netflix approximately six months after their theatrical release. Take The Last Jedi, for example, which landed on Netflix on June 26, 2018, a little over six months after its Dec. 15, 2017 premiere.
Disney+’s first big blockbuster, Avengers: Endgame, which premiered in theaters on April 26, 2019, hit the service on Nov. 12 of that year. That’s almost seven months later.
Then there’s the most recent example of a big movie launch on Disney+. Animated movie Frozen 2 made headlines last week when Disney decided to put the movie on the streaming service three whole months ahead of schedule. That movie hit theaters on Nov. 22. Last week also saw the early release (only by a few days) of The Rise of Skywalker on digital. What does this all mean?
Well, for one thing, the social distancing and possible mandatory quarantining across the U.S. could mean that theater releases will continue to get pushed to streaming and video on demand much earlier than originally intended. We’ve already seen this happen with a few Universal films that are still in theaters, including the critically-acclaimed horror flick The Invisible Man. There’s a chance that Disney may elect to do something similar with The Rise of Skywalker in the coming weeks, releasing the movie on Disney+ as a public service to subscribers stuck at home during the health crisis.
Stream your Star Wars favorites on Disney+ with a FREE TRIAL, on us!
If The Rise of Skywalker were to stick to Disney’s regular theater-to-streaming release window, it’s likely fans won’t see the movie on Disney+ until sometime in May or June. Perhaps Disney is even saving the movie for a Disney+ debut on May 4, the unofficial Star Wars Day. Besides, with the recent digital release, Disney will likely want to make some money on video on demand before sending the movie to its streaming service. Either way, Star Wars fans would be in for a much longer wait of at least two more months before getting The Rise of Skywalker on Disney+ in this case.
But, if the Mouse House were to decide to drop the movie on Disney+ early — and assuming that it sticks to releasing movies three months earlier than scheduled — fans could see the movie on the streaming service in late March or early April. That’s just a few weeks away!
What’s the likelihood of this happening? Well, considering that it seems that social distancing and staying indoors is a reality we’ll have to all deal with for the at least the next few weeks — many states have closed non-essential businesses and facilities through March and into April — there’s a good chance Disney will continue to release movies onto its streaming service earlier than intended.
For now, this is all speculation on our part, but we’ll keep you updated as we hear more about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on Disney+.
The post When Will Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Release on Disney+? appeared first on Den of Geek.
From https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-disney-plus-release-date/
