Fresh off the presses: Kathy Kennedy, on whether or not there are plans to alter George’s “final cut” of the films: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie6Cr3m344k&feature=youtu.be
skip to around the 2:50 mark
The writing’s on the wall. “I wouldn’t touch those. They will always be his films”.
The only way an OOT release will happen, is if George Lucas gives his approval. I doubt Lucasfilm would start restoring the OOT on their own accord, and as Pablo Hidalgo hinted, George Lucas is not all that interested.
At this point Mike Verta’s restoration is our best hope. Once his pitch has happened, I suspect a copy will be shared with Lucasfilm, who will have to decide what to do with it.
Well, I dont know… The way the interviewer phrased it and the manor in which she responded makes me believe she might not have understood exactly what he was asking and that she was only talking about future changes to the movies. So I’m not sure if that told us anything one way or the other.
A wasted opportunity by the interviewer, for sure. Just ask something direct like “is there a possibility of releasing the original, theatrical versions as they existed before the 97 SE’s.”