Disney's streaming service may not launch with original Star Wars movies
A deal it made with Turner back in 2016 may be standing in the way.
Of all the companies and networks that have announced or launched standalone streaming services recently, Disney's probably makes the most sense. After all, the company has such a large catalog of content, going back decades. What's more, they own both Marvel and Star Wars, franchises with enough power to draw people to a streaming service. But now, there may be trouble with some of the Star Wars rights.
Back in 2016, Disney sold television broadcast rights of the original trilogy, the prequels and four newer films (10 in total) to Turner until 2024. It also sold some streaming rights. And now, the company wants them back. According to Bloomberg, Disney has made inquiries about repurchasing the rights, but Turner is resistant. At minimum, they would want both money and programming equal in value to the films they'd be giving up.
It's not clear if the issue here is regaining streaming rights to the prequels and original trilogy (which Turner may have some exclusive rights over) or if Disney merely wants to limit where else you can see these movies in order to solidify their streaming service. Either way, though, it's pretty important for Disney to have these much-loved movies (at least, the original trilogy) available to readers when service launches, so let's hope they get this business with Turner sorted out quickly.
