Star Wars Rebels movie debuts on-demand

The Walt Disney Company is further leveraging its acquisition of Lucasfilm by debuting animated hour-long movie Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion on-demand next month.

The film will be available to verified users on WATCHDisneyXD.com and the WATCH Disney XD app in the US on September 29.

It will then launch on Disney Channels around the world on October 3 ahead of the launch of animated series Star Wars Rebels ten days later on Disney XD in 34 languages across 163 territories.

The telemovie is set in between Star Wars Episodes III and IV, and will follow a rag-tag group comprising a cowboy Jedi, pilot, street-smart teenager, an alien warrior, a female weapons expert and a cantankerous droid as they stand against the ruling Galactic Empire.

Dave Filoni (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Simon Kinberg (X Men: Days of Future Past) and Carrie Beck created the film, which comes from Lucasfilm Animation. That unit was part of the Lucasfilm group Disney acquired in 2012 for US$4.05 billion. Filoni, Kinberg and Greg Weisman executive produce.