Not that it's news to anyone, but Lucas has come across many times as trying to steer or alter the cultural impact of Star Wars. The current BR packaging is a perfect example. The three main characters from the first film - arguably the main characters in all of the franchise - are small, relegated to a corner, and even covered when the accompanying booklet is in place. There is no way that was an oversight.
His continued forcing of prequel into the original films comes across, to me anyway, as a desperate attempt to make the prequel trilogy more culturally significant than it ever ended up becoming. In fact, I'd go as far as arguing that the prequel trilogy is becoming less revered as time goes on. Particularly after this current release of revisions to the OT and the uproar in the media and fanbase.
The cultural phenomenon that was Star Wars circa the 1970s was authentic. It was organic, not manufactured. I don't think Lucas has ever been able to understand why it happened, or handle it (ever-changing Original Vision story), or repeat it (prequel tie-ins to the OT).
Below is a screengrab for a current MLB promotion. If you buy tickets for a certain game, the team donates the money to the Stand Up To Cancer foundation and you get a chance to win the BRs at the game that night.
34 years later - the instantly recognizable symbol of Star Wars is still a picture from the first film.
