We’ve heard there would be multiple new films in development for Disney+ that are to be exclusively set on the streaming service but Bob Iger has shared that “Star Wars” films won’t be among them. We already have a live-action series titled ‘The Mandalorian‘ and the animated ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ set to be released solely on the streaming service with a ‘Rogue One‘ prequel on the way but there won’t be any feature films in the immediate future. That isn’t to say if the streaming service proves to be a massive success that we won’t ever see a mid-range budgeted “Star Wars” film appear, but it just won’t be happening anytime soon.
When talking about films potentially showing up on the service, he was quick to share both that no films with a big budget or “Star Wars’-related would end up here:
“Our studio makes between eight and 10 movies a year, and they’re big budget, hopefully, big box-office films, that really belong, we believe, on the big screen. We’re not looking to take one of those and put it on this platform. When we made the announcement, we said we’re going to make original movies for the platform. A number of ideas were pitched. Other than one, which was being contemplated for the big screen but wasn’t a big movie, none of them were in development as big-screen movies. One of them that we’re making for the platform is a remake of Lady and the Tramp. There was not one discussion about whether we should make that for the big screen. Everybody said this is a great story, would love to make it again, let’s make it for what we call “the service” internally.
Almost every movie the studio makes is a $100 million-plus movie, and we’re not looking to make movies at that level for the service. We’re looking to invest significantly in television series on a per-episode business, and we’re looking to make movies that are higher budget, but nothing like that. We wouldn’t make a Star Wars movie for this platform. When everybody goes out on the weekend, and you have a movie that opens up to $200 million, there’s a buzz that creates that enhances value. We like that. And eventually, the movies we’re making are going to [end up on] the service.”
So anyone hoping that future “A Star Wars Story” movies could be built on a lower budget and launch here instead of the box office are just having their hopes dashed. As to why the company is willing to spend millions on their shows that will appear on the streaming service though is a different reason as Iger shared that:
“I guess we could have made the Star Wars series for ABC if we wanted. But the budget and what we’re spending on it and the nature of the material suggested it would be a perfect anchor for the new service. Because it’s a priority for the company, that needs to be reflected in the trafficking or the direction of where a lot of content goes. There have to be some subjective decisions made on where stuff goes because we have to feed this new beast.”
Knowing that “Star Wars” and Marvel exclusive shows will be available on the streaming service will absolutely be a selling point to many fans out there.
Were you hoping that Disney and Lucasfilm might make some mid-budget “Star Wars” films for Disney+? Are you happy with the service just set to have ongoing shows instead of movies? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Star Wars News
