Canadian Star Wars fans, rejoice: Netflix will be making The Force Awakens available in 2016.
There’s a really stupid reason why Netflix Canada will be streaming Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2016, while U.S. subscribers will have to wait a bit longer for the seventh installment in the Star Wars saga.
According to Variety, Disney has an exclusive output deal with the U.S. network Starz for all movies released in 2015. Netflix’s deal starts in 2015, but since The Force Awakens obviously comes out mid-December, they’re out of luck in this case.
Netflix Canada has no such problem securing the rights, however, and is therefore able to bring the movie to subscribers sooner.
The Force Awakens will likely be available on Netflix eventually, just like the other six movies in the saga are rumored to be, but until then… congrats, Canada.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is expected to be available on Netflix Canada approximately eight months after its cinematic release.
Related: #BoycottStarWarsVII is actually great for Star Wars fans — and here’s why (opinion)
On whether or not the six existing Star Wars films will be on Netflix any time soon, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said last week, “It’s up to Disney how they want to manage access to those assets before, during or after the release of Star Wars VII. So it’s certainly an ongoing discussion.”
We’re sure everyone is going to see The Force Awakens in theaters anyway, if the insanity surrounding the pre-order sales was anything to go by!
While we wait, let’s all rewatch that epic trailer one more time, and speculate like crazy about what it all means. That’s what fans do, right?!