TORONTO – Corus Entertainment is set to transport viewers to a galaxy far, far away after inking a multi-year licensing agreement with The Walt Disney Studios for the broadcast rights to the Star Wars film franchise.
Beginning this fall, 11 Star Wars films, including original trilogy titles and yet-to-be-seen theatrical releases, will make their debuts on Corus’ conventional and specialty networks, including Global, Showcase, W Network, ABC Spark, YTV, Disney Channel, Disney XD, and more. Broadcast details for all films will be announced at a later date.
Specifically, the agreement includes five of the six original classic Star Wars films, the Canadian network premieres of blockbuster films Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), plus the highly-anticipated Star Wars: The Last Jedi slated for theatrical release in December 2017 and the yet-to-be-released standalone Han Solo Star Wars adventure. The installment that launched the enduring franchise, Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), comes to Corus through a separate deal with 20th Century Fox.
"Star Wars is undoubtedly a cultural phenomenon with versatile, imaginative, and character-rich storylines, and a prolific library of titles that continue to captivate audiences around the world,” said Corus EVP and COO Barb Williams, in the news release. “We’re thrilled to be expanding our relationship with Disney to connect Canadians with one of the most recognized and universally appealing brands."
