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When will Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker be available on Disney+? Not in 2019, as you might imagine, although I suppose some fans may have hoped that the new streamer would release Episode IX there right away or soon-ish -- like Netflix does with its original releases after a theatrical window.
Instead, per The Hollywood Reporter's feature on Disney+, the studio doesn't plan to change its release window to bring newly released movies to the streamer any sooner. According to THR, there will be a roughly seven-month wait between a movie's release in theaters and its release on Disney+.
So, Toy Story 4 -- which came out in June 2019 -- should be available in early 2020. But Frozen 2 (which just passed $1 billion) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will likely have to wait until summer. Counting out seven months, it sounds like The Rise of Skywalker should be on Disney+ in July or just midsummer 2020.
Disney+ just launched in November, so December 2019 was the first month to get a full list of new titles. But already fans are asking about when certain titles will show up. When it comes to Disney/Marvel/Star Wars movies from previous years, there are some Netflix contracts to work through before Disney+ can get access to them.
So that's why Star Wars: The Last Jedi won't be on Disney+ until December 26, 2019, six days after The Rise of Skywalker comes out in theaters -- because Netflix still has it up to that point. Welcome to The Streaming Wars! It's only going to get more interesting in 2020.
I'm used to people saying they'll wait to see something on Netflix, and now for Disney/Pixar/Marvel/Lucasfilm titles they may wait to see them on Disney+. But Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker? It's the end of the nine-film Skywalker Saga. Will people wait to stream it on Disney+ or just look forward to re-watching it on Disney+?
There are some Star Wars fans who were very upset after The Last Jedi, so maybe they will wait for Rise of Skywalker to show up on Disney+ to not have to pay more than they are already paying. I don't know.
If you don't already have Disney+, or know someone who is considering it, go ahead and hit them up with this link to get a free 7-day trial. It's $6.99 a month, which is less than a movie ticket but the trade-off is waiting about seven months to see the movie. Is it worth it?
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens this coming Friday, December 20; it's just one of many films worth watching in theaters this month.
