That doesn’t answer the question in the hypothetical though, and that’s a question that absolutely would have been asked by basically anyone in the company thinking of agreeing to this vague “deal.” I simply don’t believe they were ever going to seriously consider using Verta’s single restoration of 1/3rd of a trilogy. It just doesn’t make any sense in terms of logistics.
Are we really to think 2020 was the last time we’ll see a new release of these movies?
On physical media? Sure. If only because I believe they’re trying to push people who want catalog product to Disney+ and Hulu.
They’re issuing DCPs of the 2011 blu-ray cuts to theaters and drive-ins now. They’re going to premiere Mulan on Disney+ for an added fee, and they’ll probably do the same for Black Widow later in the year if Mulan turns a profit (and it likely will). Disney is preparing for the death of theaters. They’re not really looking to save them - They’ve been doing THAT for the past 10 years already, and it ended up not really mattering in the face of this pandemic.
Stuff like an offical original theatrical Star Wars Trilogy restoration is absolutely going to be something they use to drive subscriptions to streaming, not to drive people to the movie theater. That’s the future we’re looking at.