'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' Heading to Netflix July 18

By Vianne Ilagan, Christian Post Contributor Saturday, June 24, 2017

Since Disney and Netflix inked an exclusive deal in 2012, their partnership has been a lucrative one for both. Following a series of successful projects, the two are now at it again with "Rogue One," which is headed to the giant streaming service next month.

It can be recalled that five years ago, the two parties signed a deal that granted Netflix exclusive rights to stream Disney movies in the United States. The deal has prevented other giant cable channels like HBO and Starz from broadcasting big-ticket Disney films. However, it was only in September 2016 that the agreement - which only includes films that had their theatrical release starting January 1 of that year - took effect.

Netflix announced earlier this week that "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" will start streaming on the site starting July 18. The film hit theaters seven months ago and was released digitally before the end of March. The following month, it got its DVD and Blu-ray release.

Since the time the deal between Disney and Netflix started taking effect, "Rogue One" will be the first-ever live-action film under the "Star Wars" franchise to head to Netflix in the U.S. Its arrival on the streaming site is also set to be the first time that Netflix subscribers can get to watch the film free of charge.

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" hit theaters back in December and was a blockbuster hit, as it earned $532 million in box office in the U.S. alone and made it the highest-grossing film on the year of its release with a total of $1.05 billion earnings worldwide. "The Last Jedi," the next installment in the "Star Wars" franchise, will be reportedly heading to Netflix in July 2018, seven months after its theatrical debut on Dec. 15 of this year.

"Rogue One" starts streaming on Netflix on July 18.