'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Flies Into Netflix This June, So Get Your Lightsabers Ready
Get ready to feel the Force once again, Star Wars fans, because the latest addition to the generations-spanning space epic is about to land on Netflix. That's right — you are going to be able to watch and rewatch Star Wars: The Last Jedi from the comfort of your own home (sans DVD) very soon. Get all the info you need to know about when Star Wars: The Last Jedi premieres on Netflix and just how long it will be available to stream on the platform right here.
It is no surprise to Star Wars fans that the latest movie is going to be available on Netflix: because of Netflix's deal with Disney (the entity that now owns Star Wars production company LucasFilm), each of the Star Wars films that have been released in the past three years have been made available on the streaming platform several months after their theatrical release. Star Wars: The Force Awakens became streamable on Netflix about eight months after it premiered in 2015, and last year's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story followed a similar timeline. In an exciting twist for fans, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is actually coming to Netflix a little earlier than its predecessors did. The latest addition to the space saga will be available on Netflix on June 26, as reported by BuzzFeed. Yep — you only have one month left to wait!
The June release date will come as a bit of a welcome surprise to fans, since most people assumed that Netflix would begin streaming The Last Jedi sometime in July, like the streaming service did with The Force Awakens, which was released theatrically on almost the same date two years earlier. But we are getting The Last Jedi on Netflix a little sooner than the previous movie.
Fans should put that extra bit of time to use, because Star Wars: The Last Jedi will not be available on Netflix forever. Disney's contract with Netflix is ending in 2019, when the production company will be releasing its own competing streaming service for its branded content, which means that The Last Jedi and all of the other Star Wars properties currently available on Netflix are at high risk of going away next year. But there is hope: Netflix is reportedly fighting hard to keep the streaming rights for Star Wars and the Marvel movies, so there is still a chance that the movies could stay on Netflix. And, hey — if the movies are pulled from Netflix, then they will definitely still be available to stream on Disney's upcoming streaming platform.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi received a pretty unique reception among moviegoers when it debuted on Dec. 15, 2017. The film reintroduced Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker as an aged Jedi sage and bid farewell to Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia as the last movie she starred in before her death, but it was met with contempt by a vocal group of the franchise's longtime super-fans. Although The Last Jedi received widespread acclaim among critics, some franchise fans voiced their distaste for the new movie for numerous reasons (Vox published a great explainer about this surprising audience backlash). I mean, just look at this disparity between the critics and the audience reviews on The Last Jedi's Rotten Tomatoes page:
It's not unusual for critics and the general public to disagree over blockbuster movies, but normally that disparity is the other way around.
Despite a group of fans that decry The Last Jedi, there are a whole lot more that loved the action-packed, sci-fi adventure. You can watch The Last Jedi whenever you want once the movie drops on Netflix on June 26.
