In my mind it’s so much simpler, though.
When it comes time to release these movies on 4k, that’s when they include the OOT. They could even put it out on regular blu-ray since many people will still not have upgraded their hardware.
Yes, I know, “the SE in 4k will be reason enough for people to buy it.” But that’s where I disagree.
Either way, Poita, I commend your efforts. This is an important piece of film history and the 35mm prints should be preserved in the highest possible quality.
But why would they do that? The unaltered originals do not seem to even be on their radar and they don’t need them as a selling point, so what would make them spend the money and do the work?
Sorry to be so skeptical, but I have no confidene they will ever go back to those versions, so that makes fan preservation project so much more important.
I doubt it will ever have a great enough effect to get the attention of the mainstream, but as long as they survive is all that matters. There will always be some who are interested and it should be available to them.