team_negative1 said:
There would be no money or profits in releasing the OT in 4k. It would take too long, and they don't have the budget to clear up the legal issues for it. Not to mention straightening out the political issues which are a bigger.
It's not going to happen. Not in any way that would satisfy the people here.
Team Negative
Of course there is money to be made. You are underestimating the demand for these. Afterall, we're talking about the most popular movie saga in film history. Just about every Gen-X Star Wars fan would be interested in seeing a properly restored, theatrical trilogy, and as we've seen many times before with Star Wars home video releases, a huge number of fans who already purchased the blu-ray set would double dip on a new release.
Not to put too much weight in anecdotal evidence, but in my own little corner of the world, every single friend of mine and everyone I have talked to that is over 35 years old or so, all say the exact same thing: Just give us the original movies before all the SE crap. None of my friends even own the blu-rays and they would all be first in line for an OT release.
Anecdotal evidence aside, just look at the recent social media ads and articles about the digital releases and you can get an idea of what fans want. The facebook ads alone from the Star Wars fan page were completely dominated by comments from people wanting only the theatrical versions.
And Robert Harris has already stated that the restoration would be relatively easy, at least compared to other projects that he has worked on, and at a modest price.
Again, this is freaking STAR WARS we are talking about. The versions of these movies that ushered in one giant pop-culture phenomenon and defined the childhoods for countless people around the world are not currently available in a modern format. Yes, the 2011 blu-rays sold well. There was never any doubt they would. But SW fans will buy any release that the studios put on the shelves, and just because someone owns the 2011 set doesn't mean they won't buy a new release.
A brand new, 4k restoration of the unreleased theatrical trilogy would be a big deal to a significant number of fans. It would also come with a very simple and easily communicated marketing message, and thus, would be a big seller.