Bill Hunt has weighed in over at The Digital Bits. He’s convinced I-VI (and Rogue One and TFA) are hitting 4k next year, probably early in the year to coincide with IX’s home video release.

Here are his thoughts regarding the possibility of an unaltered restoration:

“Now, before you all start bombarding me with questions like, “Are they going to include the original theatrical versions?!” take a deep breath, folks. I don’t know. None of this is official yet. And if I were you, I would assume not so you don’t start getting your hopes up. I’ve seen a bit of speculation online to suggest that there are plans to include the theatrical cuts of the original three films in 4K, but history suggests you should treat this with a grain of salt.

That said, it’s certainly possible. Lucasfilm DID allow the Academy to show a rare 70 mm print of the original version of Star Wars (1977) back in June… and even a week before that was announced it would have seemed inconceivable. So it’s possible there’s been a softening by George Lucas and that Disney does have plans to include those versions in any 4K release. I’ve said MANY times here at The Bits in recent years that – at some point – Disney would absolutely release those versions. The studio simply knows too well how badly fans want them and how much money they could make by including them. Could it happen with a 4K release next year? I don’t know and I think it would be safer to assume not and allow ourselves to be surprised.”