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The Rise of Skywalker Blu-ray Release Date & Special Features Revealed
The Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Blu-ray officially receives a March release date. Hitting theaters back in December, the film marked the culmination of the legendary Skywalker saga, ending the epic narrative that began with the original Star Wars film in 1977. While The Rise of Skywalker did earn mixed reviews from critics (it has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of all the live-action films released to date), it still grossed over $1 billion at the worldwide box office and gave Disney yet another massive blockbuster to close out their banner 2019.
As Lucasfilm plans the next slate of Star Wars movies, they'll finally be stepping away from the friendly confines of the Skywalker saga and exploring fresh horizons (the High Republic and Old Republic have been subject to recent rumors). However, before the book is definitively closed on this chapter of the franchise's history, the studio has to handle The Rise of Skywalker's home media release. And now, fans know when they can rewatch the story's final chapter in their living room.
Today on StarWars.com, it was announced The Rise of Skywalker will be available on Digital March 17 and 4K/Blu-ray/DVD on March 31. Retailers Target, Best Buy, and Walmart will have exclusive packaging and sets with their own perks (for example, Target's comes with a "Gallery Book". Additionally, Disney confirmed Best Buy will exclusively sell the 9-movie Skywalker saga box set. Plus, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens, and Rogue One will all be available on 4K for the first time March 31. Watch the Rise of Skywalker home media trailer in the space below:
Of course, The Rise of Skywalker Blu-ray will include several bonus features, including a feature-length documentary chronicling the making of the film. Other supplements explore aspects like the Pasaana speeder chase, new droid D-O, and Warwick Davis' return as famous Ewok Wicket. The Digital release has an exclusive featurette where John Williams looks back at his illustrious time composing music for the Star Wars films. Curiously, it does not appear the disc will have deleted scenes, which will be disappointing for fans hoping to get a glimpse of what was left on the cutting room floor (in particular, extra Rose scenes). There's also no commentary track from J.J. Abrams on this release, meaning viewers won't be able to hear his additional insights into the filmmaking process. Perhaps that'll be saved for a later Blu-ray (as was the case on The Force Awakens), but an argument can be made this initial Rise of Skywalker disc is light on extra features.
However slim some may consider this Blu-ray to be, the Rise of Skywalker documentary will probably be of interest to some. More often than not, these are studio-approved pieces that offer a watered-down look behind-the-curtain, but Star Wars has been known to deliver compelling making-of documentaries in the past. The Last Jedi documentary covered Mark Hamill's reservations about the way Luke Skywalker was written. In all likelihood, whatever's on The Rise of Skywalker won't detail Colin Trevorrow's Duel of the Fates, but hopefully there are some fascinating nuggets in there. And if nothing else, Star Wars fans will be able to marathon the full saga from home in just a few weeks, which is an exciting proposition.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits Digital March 17, 2020 and Blu-ray March 31, 2020.
