There are a lot of people self-quarantining right now, all thanks to the novel coronavirus sweeping across the globe. But at least people stuck indoors will have something to watch: On Friday it was announced Disney was making Frozen 2, the smash sequel to their 2013 blockbuster, available on their streamer a few months earlier than planned. (It’ll be online Sunday.) They also dropped another one of their products online: As per Entertainment Weekly, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now available for digital rental.
In neither case did Disney explicitly state that the reason behind their release was the deadly pandemic that’s been keeping many — though not all — indoors. On top of that, physical copies of the film — the third in the third trilogy of the so-called “Skywalker Saga” — won’t hit shelves until March 31, as was the original plan. Originally the digital version was to go live on Tuesday the 17th. But since many places in America, including New York City, have declared states of emergency, at least they can catch up with a film that closed out a story over 40 years in the telling.
The Rise of Skywalker opened late 2019 to mixed reviews, with some critics taking umbrage with such matters as the return of long-dead baddie Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who it was later revealed was a clone. Those discussions will likely resurface now that the film is more easily accessible. Feel free to steam once more over its treatment of Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico in between checking on COVID-19 news.
(Via EW)
