Disney and Netflix's landmark pay one deal, which gives the streaming service exclusive rights to Disney's newest theatrical releases, unfortunately won't include Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The deal, which was struck between the two companies years ago, only counts theatrical releases from Jan. 1, 2016, onward. This means that while all future installments of Star Wars, including this year's Rogue One, will appear on Netflix, Starz still has the exclusive rights to The Force Awakens.
A Disney representative told Polygon that the movie, which was released last December, was just a few weeks shy of making the cut. The representative did confirm, however, that Netflix users in Canada would still be able to watch The Force Awakens, because the deal that was made for international distribution was different from the one for distribution within the United States.
The deal between Netflix and Disney went into effect at the beginning of 2016, ending Starz's rights to broadcast any future movies, and Starz also lost its rights to international broadcasting as of 2015. This means that any Disney movie — which includes Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel properties — released theatrically after Jan. 1, 2015, will be available to stream on Netflix in Canada.
Another Netflix representative confirmed to Polygon that The Force Awakens wouldn't be coming to Netflix, but that Netflix would be the home of Disney movies for the foreseeable future. The pay one deal, the rep explained, meant that there wasn't really a particular end day in sight for the partnership between Disney and Netflix.
Those looking to watch The Force Awakens over and over again should probably look into purchasing the Blu-ray version of the film or buying it from digital services like Amazon and iTunes.