Just so we can settle this part of the debate:

The 4k master is not an upscale.

Yes, we know this with a degree of certainty.

The only things that would be upscaled in the SE are practically all of the vfx shots, since even the “unaltered” miniature shots were still recomped and this only would’ve been done in 2k.

However, it’s worth noting that even new movies made today in 2016, even if they’re finished as a 4k DI, still only have their vfx shots rendered at 2k. So, there’s nothing at all disingenuous about the '97 fx shots being upscaled from 2k as far as I’m concerned.

It’s also worth noting that the 2004 and 2011 changes may possibly have been finished at true 2k and not 1080p (subtle and perhaps insignificant distinction, but still). ILM might have saved them on a hard drive and simply “plugged them in” to the new 4k master. But those changes are so few and far between either way, so they’re not worth worrying about really.

What matters is that most of the OT-SE is still the original camera negative, or at least IP replacements for the frames of the o-neg that were damaged beyond repair. This fresh 4k scan utilized for Reliance MediaWorks’ 16-bit 4k master will bring out even more detail than was possible with the 2k scan Lowry used twelve years ago.