If they’re using the 97 SE, does that mean these will be screened on actual 35mm film? I don’t know why they would be using that version if they were going digital. You would think they would use the 2011 versions if they were. It just doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense that they would use the 97 unless they had a very specific reason to do so. Either use the originals to satisfy the old fans or use the latest Lucas approved version to satisfy the prequel fanboys. Why go in between like that? That’s not going to satisfy anybody, except for maybe a small subset of fans with a nostalgic attachment to the 97 versions.
In any case, I will be going to see it. I’m disappointed it’s not the original but I can’t resist the opportunity to see them on the big screen. Though if they double dip and give the OUT a 40th anniversary release a year later as I predicted I will feel a bit ripped off. They might just be milking the SEs for the last time.
In fact that’s probably what they’re doing: Using this roadshow as a final send-off both to the SEs and to Star Wars on film print. Then the next year they’ll have a much wider, less limited release of a digital restoration of the OUT, considering most theaters these days only have digital projection capabilities.