The Star Wars original trilogy has been released, edited, re-released, edited some more–rinse and repeat. Tweaks running the gamut from major to minor have been made since A New Hope premiered in 1977. Though the theatrical cuts were released on DVD in 2006, they’ve never made it to Blu-ray–but not for lack of demand from fans. Rumors about the theatrical cuts really and truly coming to Blu-ray seem to surface regularly, and the latest speculation comes courtesy of John Landis.
The director/producer recently appeared at a Q&A at Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, and Empire Magazine reported that Landis said Disney’s finally going to re-release the theatrical cuts of the original trilogy:
At a Q&A tonight John Landis dropped that Disney are finally going to re-release the theatrical cuts of the original Star Wars trilogy.
— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) September 19, 2015
Why would Landis be privy to this information? Well, he heard it from George Lucas himself:
Apparently George mentioned it when last they spoke. Somebody put Yub Nub on. Let the celebrations commence!
— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) September 19, 2015
Lucas arguably isn’t involved in day-to-day operations of Lucasfilm any longer, but it’s reasonable to assume he would be in the know about a deal such as this one. There are issues to untangle though, namely that 20th Century Fox owns release rights. Disney would have to negotiate quite the agreement to make a re-release possible. And hey, they’re a little wrapped up in the upcoming release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If this rumor is true, I wouldn’t expect any movement until after Episode VII hits theaters in December.
My advice? Don’t get your hopes up until Disney or Lucasfilm makes an official announcement. If you desperately want to own the theatrical cuts, hunt down the DVDs or go old school and get the laser discs.
Would you buy theatrical cuts of the original trilogy on Blu-ray? Do you think the rumor is true this time? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
—
HT: Slashfilm
Image: 20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm
