Although our disagreement is rooted in a "what if" situation, I stand by my original position and here's why:
A) You stated that despite an artist's interpretation of "when" a product was completed, if it was sold to a studio then the artist would have to abide by it's decision. Apart from the obvious dilemma of who gets to decide when a work is "completed," my point was that even if this were the case, then GL would still retain the legal right to release the SE's with or without Universal's approval. This is my reasoning, as outlined in 17 U.S.C. 201 under the heading "Contributions to Collective Works" it states:
"Copyright in each separate contribution to a collective work is distinct from copyright in the collective work as a whole, and vests initially in the author of the contribution."......
Now, before you assault me with the rest of the statute, which states that yes, a copyright holder does have control over contributions, revisions etc. I would ask you to realize that if this case were being litigated, then attorneys for Lucas would almost certainly argue that the SE's do not represent a "revision," "contribution" or otherwise. They would argue that the SE's would represent "Completion" of said films (and this is my view as well). Given that Lucas has made many, many statements over the past 25 years with regard to the technical, financial and industrial problems that plagued the films, this leads me to believe that GL's attorneys would have a strong argument in favor of never having completed his films. This is far from a "gross oversimplification" in my view.
But again this all goes back to the question of who has the right to determine when a film is completed.
With respect to "moral rights," I don't understand why you brought this up as it is not applicable to motion pictures in the US and thus, totally irrelevant to the present debate.
On a personal note, I don't understand why so many people have a problem with this, artists should have the right to alter their work. The assertion that works of art belong to the people is too communistic for my tastes.