Disney will not renew its contract with Netflix in 2019, according to the latest shareholders meeting, which brings potential bad news for Star Wars fans…
With the longevity of The Clone Wars animated series being a huge hit on Netflix and with the addition of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story recently added to the streaming service, things were looking up for more Star Wars content to be added in the near future.
Those high hopes took a major blow this past week, with the announcement of Disney parting ways with Netflix starting in 2018, originally reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Disney CEO Bob Iger didn’t say much, but his words being few spoke volumes. He called this parting of ways “a strategic shift in the way we distribute our content.”
According to the report:
"Disney will acquire a majority of BAMTech, the streaming technology company owned by MLBAM, the internet company owned by Major League Baseball. Disney already owned a stake in BAMTech but will pay $1.58 billion for an additional 42 percent."
What does this mean for fans of Star Wars? At some point by 2019, most likely sooner, The Clone Wars film and animated series, along with Rogue One, will no longer be available on Netflix.
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Iger did mention that Disney will begin a streaming service of its own soon, similar to Netflix, but it’s unsure if Star Wars content will be available.
This recent development has two potential outcomes, in my opinion. There is no middle ground, either it’s going to be very good for fans who want to access Star Wars content all in one place, or it means there will none available at all.
What should Star Wars fans do? Prepare for the worse by buying Clone Wars before the price is raised on the box set series because that will happen. Let’s also hope that Disney has the best interest of Star Wars fans at heart and gives us all the content like we’ve been waiting on for many years now.
Next: 10 reasons why Star Wars is better since the Disney acquisition
For now, you can watch both The Clone Wars and Rogue One on Netflix.