Here’s a weird one. One of our sources is telling us that Netflix has made preliminary moves towards Disney in an effort to convince the Mouse House to let it make a Star Wars show. Before we get into the whys and hows, the chances of that happening are about as likely as pigs flying; bear in mind that we can only report what we’re told.
After all, past rumors that have seemed extremely unlikely – like the Snyder cut being released on HBO Max, Luke Skywalker turning up in The Mandalorian, or Alfred Molina reprising Doc Ock in Spider-Man: No Way Home – have proved true.
That being said, I’ll print out this news story and eat it with ketchup if it happens. Netflix and Disney are in direct competition with each other in the cut-throat and high-priced arena of online streaming video. The main selling point of Disney Plus is that it provides access to an exclusive stable of world-class IPs and is the only place where you can see new Star Wars and Marvel Studios shows.
Disney cemented this division when the Netflix/Marvel TV shows were canceled, with that mini-universe coming to an end in favor of Disney Plus’ shows that tie in much more closely to the movies. The Mouse House granting their biggest competitor the right to use their most valuable intellectual property would be shooting themselves in the foot.
Perhaps the only way this could happen is if Netflix had something Disney desperately wanted. The only thing I can think of is Netflix giving up all their rights to Marvel TV streaming. Thing is, indications are that those characters may already appear in upcoming shows, so this seems like a non-starter.
I’m putting this one in the ‘never-gonna-happen’ column. Anyway, if Netflix really did ask Disney to let them make a Star Wars show, we’d know, as the laughter coming from Bob Chapek’s office would be audible across the whole of California.
