Fang Zei

CarboniteSolo said:

I think Disney is going to release the original trilogy again in theaters in 2027 for the 50th anniversary.

Wouldn’t surprise me at all.

Maybe they’d even do it the year before the big anniversary, sort of like how George was originally planning the SE for ‘96 before realizing Episode I wasn’t going to be ready in ‘97.

Right now the rumor is ‘26/‘27 for the Rey movie. I could almost see them attaching a saga 3D trailer to Avatar 3 at the end of ‘25 in the style of that first SE trailer, starting off just 2D with the glasses on … but then …

“If you’ve only seen it this way, you haven’t seen it at all.”

As others have said, yeah, the 2020 Empire dcp was still from the 2011 for some reason. Even though the 4k master had already been out there in UHD form on disc for several months (and for several months more on Disney+).

RotJ’s re-release this year was apparently the 4k. This still wasn’t shown in Dolby Cinema or Imax, though. I can’t help but feel like they’re holding those back for a big theatrical re-release of all the films at some point further down the road, maybe when they get around to converting the OT into 3D.

Seriously, a 4k UHD set, three discs per film, with the unaltereds and the “rare 1997 special edition” versions, seems like a no brainer to me.

WookieeWarrior77 said:

Fang Zei said:

I also remember wondering if the special edition would be considered the official version going forward but seeing that first TPM teaser on Entertainment Tonight in November of ‘98 pretty definitively answered that question for me.

Do you think LFL/Disney would ever commission ILM to do a complete re-do of the SE? Re-rendering the ‘97 cg shots at late 2000’s / early 2010’s quality would not only be cost-effective but also wouldn’t exceed the resolution of the ST and the cg wouldn’t go from ‘99 to ‘05 quality only to revert to ‘97 quality for modern viewers watching the saga in official order for the first time.

Before you say “but what about ‘04 Jabba?”, well, I still think the ‘97 version looked better.

I highly doubt that would ever happen. Kathleen Kennedy’s often misunderstood quote of, “I wouldn’t touch those, they´re his” (or something to that effect) means LFL under Disney wouldn’t make any new changes to the movies. It does NOT mean they would never release the originals. That isn’t changing the movies, that’s giving another cut which has existed for over 40 years.

I forgot to add “with George’s blessing.”

If he’s still okay with how everything looks 26 years later then that’s probably how the cgi shots will look forever. I doubt he wants to bother with it anymore.

I also remember wondering if the special edition would be considered the official version going forward but seeing that first TPM teaser on Entertainment Tonight in November of ‘98 pretty definitively answered that question for me.

Do you think LFL/Disney would ever commission ILM to do a complete re-do of the SE? Re-rendering the ‘97 cg shots at late 2000’s / early 2010’s quality would not only be cost-effective but also wouldn’t exceed the resolution of the ST and the cg wouldn’t go from ‘99 to ‘05 quality only to revert to ‘97 quality for modern viewers watching the saga in official order for the first time.

Before you say “but what about ‘04 Jabba?”, well, I still think the ‘97 version looked better.

The GOUT will be to the hd/4k era what Faces/“THX”/OneLastTime was to vhs and dvd.

Cameron has said he considers the special edition of Star Wars a revision of history and I couldn’t help but think of his considering the version of Avatar that won Academy Awards the definitive version as a subtle nod to that.

Of course, he himself has altered his films using digital technology but it was almost always to fix visible mistakes or continuity errors.

ThatPixarGuy said:

Fang Zei said:

ThatPixarGuy said:

SomethingStarWarsRelated said:

ThatPixarGuy said:

I’m seeing a 40th anniversary screening with some family and friends on Saturday. The theatrical cut would be preferable of course, but I’m just happy to see a good Star Wars film in theaters haha.

Was it ever clarified why Empire’s 40th anniversary screenings used the 2011 Blu-ray rather than the more recent 2019 transfer? Hopefully that won’t be the same case here…

Yes, I was just wondering this. Once you see it, could you let us know which version it is?

Sure!

The only thing that would really give it away is the color timing, as the 2011 and 2019 versions are basically otherwise identical.

LexX said:

Fang Zei said:

ThatPixarGuy said:

SomethingStarWarsRelated said:

ThatPixarGuy said:

I’m seeing a 40th anniversary screening with some family and friends on Saturday. The theatrical cut would be preferable of course, but I’m just happy to see a good Star Wars film in theaters haha.

Was it ever clarified why Empire’s 40th anniversary screenings used the 2011 Blu-ray rather than the more recent 2019 transfer? Hopefully that won’t be the same case here…

Yes, I was just wondering this. Once you see it, could you let us know which version it is?

Sure!

The only thing that would really give it away is the color timing, as the 2011 and 2019 versions are basically otherwise identical.

The opening logos are different as well.

Those, and also I remember hearing that an entire reel was accidentally scanned out of focus which was fixed in/for 2019.

Well, yeah, but I feel like even that sort of difference would be easy to miss unless you’ve got sharp eyes.

I totally forgot about the Lucasfilm logo, though.

ThatPixarGuy said:

SomethingStarWarsRelated said:

ThatPixarGuy said:

I’m seeing a 40th anniversary screening with some family and friends on Saturday. The theatrical cut would be preferable of course, but I’m just happy to see a good Star Wars film in theaters haha.

Was it ever clarified why Empire’s 40th anniversary screenings used the 2011 Blu-ray rather than the more recent 2019 transfer? Hopefully that won’t be the same case here…

Yes, I was just wondering this. Once you see it, could you let us know which version it is?

Sure!

The only thing that would really give it away is the color timing, as the 2011 and 2019 versions are basically otherwise identical.

rocknroll41 said:

Fang Zei said:

rocknroll41 said:

Not sure if this has been discussed here yet but right now LFL is hoping to have the Rey movie ready for 2025 and the Filoni movie for 2026 and the Mangold movie for some time later (after he finishes his Bob Dylan movie):
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/star-wars-lucasfilm-rey-movie-mangold-filoni-1235371547/

Just to clarify, we don’t have any indication whatsoever right now as to when Filoni’s film will get made. 2026 was only listed in the context of the original plan circa late 2019.

Disney was going to alternate Avatar sequels and Star Wars movies on Christmas of odd and even numbered years respectively starting with Avatar 2 in 2021, but then the pandemic pushed everything back a year and Lucasfilm didn’t get anything ready for the big screen quickly enough.

2026 will be a crowded year for Disney as it is, with Avengers: Secret Wars in May and Avatar 4 at the end of the year. That doesn’t mean they can’t put out something some other time of the year, but I don’t know why they wouldn’t just wait lest they get a repeat of Solo.

Cameron already said that Avatar 4&5 might get delayed, and reports are saying that the MCU is about to enter a “slowdown” phase. I think we’re about to see a major reshuffling of the whole Disney schedule tbh.

Wouldn’t surprise me, but I’m also curious how they’re planning on handling the big 50th anniversary in 2027.

rocknroll41 said:

Not sure if this has been discussed here yet but right now LFL is hoping to have the Rey movie ready for 2025 and the Filoni movie for 2026 and the Mangold movie for some time later (after he finishes his Bob Dylan movie):
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/star-wars-lucasfilm-rey-movie-mangold-filoni-1235371547/

Just to clarify, we don’t have any indication whatsoever right now as to when Filoni’s film will get made. 2026 was only listed in the context of the original plan circa late 2019.

Disney was going to alternate Avatar sequels and Star Wars movies on Christmas of odd and even numbered years respectively starting with Avatar 2 in 2021, but then the pandemic pushed everything back a year and Lucasfilm didn’t get anything ready for the big screen quickly enough.

2026 will be a crowded year for Disney as it is, with Avengers: Secret Wars in May and Avatar 4 at the end of the year. That doesn’t mean they can’t put out something some other time of the year, but I don’t know why they wouldn’t just wait lest they get a repeat of Solo.

Servii said:

StarkillerAG said:

I saw the new poster for the rerelease on Reddit today. Right now, it’s one of the most active threads on the site, for a reason that I’m sure a lot of people here will be proud of: Pretty much all the comments are demanding a release of the theatrical OT.

As a member of the site that created the Despecialized versions, it was so satisfying to go through that thread and see all the people saying things like “Will this be the original version?”, or “I wish Disney would release the original versions”, or “This is why I only watch Despecialized”. There are even people spreading the news about the 4K77 project to people who think Despecialized is still the best option to see the original movies in HD.

I thought people had pretty much stopped caring about the theatrical OT, but I think this proves that there’s still a ton of demand. If Disney releases the original versions, people will watch them. It’s a shame that they probably won’t.

Yeah, it’s very telling of how many people care about seeing the original movies. It flies in the face of the claim that “Only a tiny vocal minority want those versions.” Many fans put up with the Special Editions, but if given the chance to buy remasters of the original cuts, they absolutely would.

George’s own friends Steven and Francis included all three versions of Close Encounters and Apocalypse Now on 4k. Even just last year the 4k rebuild of the director’s edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released in a special deluxe edition that included the “special longer version” originally cut together for home video in the 80’s along with the 1979 original, both also in 4k.

Even if they never want to release the older versions in theaters again, they’ll eventually run out of ways to repackage the same altered movies to us again and again on home video.

Also, it’s rather uncool of them to commission such a retro poster meant to evoke 1983 when we all know it once again won’t be that version.

rocknroll41 said:

RogueLeader said:

And it comes out tomorrow! Doesn’t seem like it will be a big thing, “Grogu and the Dust Bunnies”. A cute little short. But maybe we will see more if there is a lot of positivity around it.
Also, rocknroll, do you know how many of these projects have been officially confirmed by Lucasfilm and how many are reports? I feel like it is a running gag at this point about how Lucasfilm announces a project only for it to go nowhere, but I am curious how many of those are just insider reporting. I mean, it isn’t unusual for filmmakers to work on projects with studios only for them to never get off the ground, but regardless it seems like there are a high number of them coming out of Lucasfilm.

These are the only ones Lucasfilm announced directly:

Rian Johnson’s trilogy
Kevin Feige’s movie that Michael Waldron is writing
Taika Waititi’s movie (rumored to be a loose Dawn of the Jedi adaptation)
Rogue Squadron (originally for 2023 but now delayed indefinitely like everything else)

(from November)

Since it turns out Mangold is directing Dawn of the Jedi, I wonder what Waititi’s film is actually about.

Rumor now has it they’re not just announcing one film at Celebration next month, but three of them.

Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson have apparently exited the Star Wars film they were working on, according to sources.

Principal photography was mid-2000. Pickups in 2001 is when they filmed Padme on the conveyor belt.

That’s about all I know.

Servii said:

I’d probably be more accepting of the Special Editions if it weren’t for the fact that all the modern home video transfers of the OT have been so poorly done.

I’m not even a hundred percent convinced that the 2019 transfers will end up as the final, finished masters of the Special Editions.

They were already several years old by that point, and were originally meant to serve as a basis for the 3D conversions that never happened. The most expert take I’ve read on how the actual transfers look on disc is that ANH looks relatively good in 4k but still not quite like film, roughly half of ESB has been overly filtered, and RotJ falls somewhere between the two. It’s also worth noting that no new DCP’s (the digital “prints” that get sent to theaters on hard drives now) have been created from the new masters to the best of anyone’s knowledge. Even the 2020 screenings of ESB here and there were apparently still the old 2k (but still from the old master which is only really 1.9k).

Disney probably figured it was just better to get those 4k transfers out there on streaming / disc and make money off of them even if they didn’t look quite as good as they could. They might just start over from scratch when the time comes to finally convert them to 3D and present them theatrically in Dolby Cinema and Imax, the latter of which might not really hold up with all the DNR on the existing masters.

LexX said:

CarboniteSolo said:

They should add the unaltered original trilogy to their streaming platform and promote it to Star Wars fans that you can only watch it exclusively on Disney+

I mean if they wanted more people to join, that would be a way to do it.

Those things would also appear on torrents before you could say GOUT.

Only putting the earlier versions out on physical disc and maybe then only on 4k UHD might not prevent piracy of it altogether, but it would be a helluva deterrent.

JadedSkywalker said:

I saw this video and didn’t even bother to leave a comment, it is so idiotic. A bad faith argument. And probably the worst take i’ve ever seen.

Nearly every other director with exceptions and studios for that matter do catalog releases of their films. Star Wars not being available to own is ridiculous.

The worst argument is the money, technology has advanced where if fans can restore 35mm prints for significantly less than what FOX spent on the Special Editions, Disney could easily restore the originals and it won’t cost millions. And they don’t even need to touch the negative if they restore from another source. Obviously not a release print. Fans resorted to that because they have nothing else.

Nobody is throwing rocks at George and saying he can’t have the 2020 Special Edition locked in as his final cut, what fans want is the movies they fell in love with and as they originally were released.

It becomes even more trivial when you consider that a restoration/remastering of the unaltered versions would be a token investment. We’re only talking three movies totaling six hours of film here, not something crazy like the grand hd re-build Paramount did for all seven seasons of TNG.

Technology has indeed come so far that if the OT were to get a proper preservation now it probably wouldn’t ever need it again.

All versions should be out there, but the 2011 and 2019 versions are practically identical aside from scan / quality and color timing (at least for the OT) and the occasional difference like “Maklunkey.”

That said, George’s old friend Coppola did include the Redux version of Apocalypse Now branched onto the same 4k disc as the theatrical just as he’d done years earlier for the blu-ray, even though the 4k final cut got its own disc included and only differs from the Redux by its omission of one scene.

‘97 Jabba and Creepy Puppet Yoda should not be lost to history.

I seem to remember reading on imdb that it was 1.81:1, which would’ve roughly split the difference between the 2.39:1 aspect ratio AotC was actually finished at and the 1.43:1 of the Imax prints.

While not officially announced, there’s also the Damon Lindelof project that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is attached to direct, rumored to take place post-TRoS.

Criterion putting out Wall-E is notable because it’s Criterion’s first Disney release in years and their very first Disney title on 4k UHD.

It’s also notable because their new edition will have Dolby Vision whereas the Disney disc didn’t. Even the Star Wars UHD’s didn’t get dolby vision on disc. TLJ’s original 2018 release did, but it’s one of only two movies where Disney included DV (Black Panther is the other one).

I think the big difference here though is that Wall-E is just one standalone movie and not part of a bigger franchise. It would be fun if Criterion also got the rights to Ratatouille and Up because then they could put out the Pixar Art House Trilogy.

If Disney were smart, they’d keep Star Wars all to themselves and give each film its own multi-disc, multi-version collector’s edition (complete with dolby vision). I really don’t see them licensing out Star Wars, ever, although I’d love to be wrong.

2012:

This should almost go without saying, but my very first move would be to give each film of the pre-existing I-VI saga its own “all versions” edition like how WB handled Blade Runner. As a show of good will to George, I’d extend an olive branch by inviting him to make whatever changes he wants to his versions and I’d even offer to finance a complete re-do of the cgi, essentially a Special Edition 2.0, if that’s what he wanted. This would be on the understanding, though, that this would be the final edits he ever makes to the films.

Speaking of George, I think I’d keep him involved with 7-9 and at least try to incorporate more of whatever his ideas were for the ST. I don’t think I’d get Abrams, it would either be Johnson from the get-go or another filmmaker who’d only worked with smaller budgets just like George had when he made THX and Graffiti. It’s been a decade, so who knows who that could’ve been, but I wouldn’t get hung up on “this person basically already made a Star Wars movie so just give them an actual Star Wars movie” like Lucasfilm did when they courted JJ.

…But here’s my little twist, since this is all a thought experiment anyway…

…I’d insist they figure out a way to set the ST within the confines of the existing EU, if for no other reason than it would force the writers/directors to get creative and not lean on Nostalgia. Nothing that’s happened in the years since Endor needs to be referenced (Coruscant wasn’t so much as mentioned in the actual ST anyway), but there would be certain unavoidable limitations in place.

2022:

George, Rian and JJ all get offered the chance to make whatever changes they’d like to their respective works. All eleven films get the Blade Runner treatment, with all the deleted footage from Rogue One, Solo, and TRoS finally out there for all to see.

Final Cuts of all nine main saga films get released in theaters in chronological I-IX order, with only a week between the re-release of each film just like the Saturday matinee serials that inspired Star Wars in the first place. Rogue One and Solo would also occasionally be shown theatrically, as would the original cuts of the OT.

Tell a new saga taking place thousands of years either before or after the films we know and find a young, hungry director for the job.

bkev said:

While that would be wonderful, I don’t share your optimism on the subject. Disney runs Lucasfilm very much like Lucas ran Lucasfilm. It’s a brand and a narrative first. Those alternate takes don’t matter because they didn’t make it, especially if they change the story in a significant fashion. I’m honestly surprised we ever got the deleted scenes from the OT.

George at least put out the GOUT to shut down bootleggers pushing laserdisc rips.

We’re only just this year getting to the point where the entire OOT has been made available from modern scans of actual 35mm release prints.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the first laserdisc rips of the OOT started showing up around 2003. Three years later, George put out the GOUT.

Disney themselves just made the Light and Magic ILM documentary which includes lots of OOT footage. For me it’s not that far of a stretch to think they’d be open to restoring/remastering those versions, if only because it would be yet another re-release for them to profit off of.