Star Wars on Netflix: Good Idea or Bad Plan
By Josh Hill
All six Star Wars movies might be coming to Netflix so you can binge on 24/7, but is it really something Star Wars fans need?
Online streaming services are the way of the future when it comes to how we digest our media, and that future might be headed to a galaxy far, far away — finally.
Despite the success of online streaming, the Star Wars movies haven’t yet been made available for free on Netflix. There are digital versions of the film available thanks to Amazon, but you need to pay for those individually like you would most things on Amazon Video. But Netflix is a subscription-based model where you pay for a ticket in the door then can play everything inside without paying again.
That’s why everyone wanted The Simpsons and Seinfeld to land at Netflix, as you didn’t need an extra subscription and more importantly don’t have to watch ads. That hope has shifted fully to getting the Star Wars films on Netflix, and it’s looking like we might be close to having that happen.
The hot rumor going around is that the Netflix and Disney pact will lead to Star Wars finally getting onto the streaming service. There’s a bit of a hangup there with the rights to the films, which is the same problem that we have with wanting a box set of the original, un-altered OT films.
But the special edition films are not broken up in ownership and it’s these versions that we might be getting on Netflix soon. Furthering the rumor along is the fact that there are currently pages dedicated to the Star Wars films complete with mostly everything that is included in other available streaming titles on Netflix.
This hardly means for certain that the Star Wars films will be coming to Netflix but it’s a giant step in the right direction.
Neither Netflix nor Disney have made any comments or hints that the saga will be making a streaming debut, but if Netflix lands the two trilogies it could be a massive game changer that once again puts Netflix in the lead as the premier streaming service once again.
The real question here though is whether or not this is really something Star Wars fans need or not. If you’re a diehard, you’re going to already own the films probably in formats dating back to BETA Max and VHS. If you’re new to Star Wars, this could be a way into the franchise but it’s also likely that you’ve already seen the films even if your introduction has been simply watching the television shows.
Also, if you’re a diehard you’re already not going to like the versions of the film on Netflix because they’re going to be the sacrilegious special edition versions — probably the ones with Hayden Christensen in Return of the Jedi.
The only real perk at having Star Wars on Netflix is to have the ability to bounce from movie to movie without having to deal with changing a disc. Look, no one is going to be upset if Star Wars come to Netflix, but if the films keep hanging in limbo it’s not going to be the end of the world.
There’s a lot of positivity about getting Netflix and Star Wars in bed together, as it’s done wonders for the popularity and success of The Clone Wars, and Rebels can probably expect the same thing. Sure, it might be the special editions but the original trilogy is something that the younger audiences need to be exposed to and something is better than nothing.
Plus, binging on Star Wars is never a bad thing.