For the first time, all six parts of of George Lucas' Star Wars franchise will be available for digital download, starting April 10. The announcement comes today via Variety and elsewhere, and the movies will be available across multiple platforms: Amazon, Google Play, Xbox, Vudu, iTunes, and Playstation.
The movies will be available for individual download for $19.99 apiece, and as a bundle for $89.99.
Walt Disney Studios, Lucasfilm Ltd. and 20th Century Fox made the joint announcement eight months ahead of the Christmas release of the seventh installment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens directed by J.J. Abrams.
There is one slight hiccup for Disney Movies Everywhere subscribers: "After purchase, all of the films, except Episode IV [i.e. the original Star Wars], will be available in customers’ accounts at Disney Movies Anywhere. Rights to “A New Hope,” the fourth episode, are controlled by 20th Century Fox."
And, says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, "We’ve created some very special bonus material which delves into the Saga’s rich history, including new and never-before-released conversations between legendary ‘Star Wars’ artists."
Consumerist adds that the versions available of episodes IV through VI are not the original theatrical versions, but "the editions that Lucas tinkered with decades later. Thus, Han still does not shoot first, even in digital download form."
Related: Felicity Jones To Star In Rogue One, The First Star Wars Spinoff