Bob Iger Says No Plans For New ‘Star Wars’ Films To Debut On Disney+

While Disney’s streaming service will have a wide variety of both old and new content, don’t count on new, original Star Wars films to debut there. According to the man himself, Bob Iger, such a massive undertaking would not be necessary to premiere on Disney+.

Not that anyone ever expected a big-budget Star Wars blockbuster to premiere on Disney+. Still, Disney’s chairman and CEO revealed in a recent interview with Barrons that when it comes to decision making on going to the movies versus streaming, he believes the big budget products belong on the big screen. Because almost every movie that comes out of the House of Mouse is a $100+ million project, Iger isn’t looking to make films, such as Star Wars, at that level for a streaming 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.”

Though Bob Iger pointed out that a Star Wars television series on a network like ABC probably could’ve worked. He admits that a project like The Mandalorian probably could’ve fit elsewhere, but because of the budget spent on the project, he found it to be a proper flagship title to help debut Disney+:

“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.”

So it seems that Bob Iger looks to have a plan for almost everything. Production on both The Mandalorian and Star Wars: Episode IX seem to be going according to plan so far. Coupled with everything else the House of Mouse has in store, a Star Wars series debuting on a streaming service could be the way to entice curious viewers to sign up. But do you think there could come a time when a Star Wars film debuts on Disney+? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Directed by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: Episode IX stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Kelly Marie Tran, Domhnall Gleeson, Billie Lourd, Naomi Ackie, Joonas Suotamo, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Jimmy Vee, Greg Grunberg, Dominic Monaghan and Matt Smith.

The film will blast its way into theaters on December 20, 2019.

Source: Barrons