All 11 “Star Wars” films are set to air on Disney’s linear networks this month as part of a renegotiated multiyear deal that will see the franchise’s linear rights shared co-exclusively with Turner Entertainment Networks.
They include “A New Hope” (1977), “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980), “Return of the Jedi” (1983), “The Phantom Menace” (1999), “Attack of the Clones” (2002), “Revenge of the Sith” (2005), “The Force Awakens” (2015), “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016), “The Last Jedi” (2017), “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (2018) and “The Rise of Skywalker” (2019).
In 2016, the two parties struck a deal that gave Turner the rights to the six original Star Wars films for seven years. That deal expired at the end of September. Meanwhile, the windows on the five newer films remained under license to Turner, with various end dates.
The new deal extends the term in order to align all 11 films’ end dates. The domestic linear TV rights beyond that date has not been determined.
Disney’s FX will on Saturday air a marathon featuring “A New Hope,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi,” as well as the 2008 animated film “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” which is not part of the Turner package.
The movies first aired on TNT on Sept. 20, 2016. However, the two parties later agreed to make the full “Star Wars” saga available on Disney+ while the linear rights remained at Turner.
Deadline first reported the news.
