It looks like those Star Wars fans who have been hoping to see George Lucas’ original cut of the first movie, are set to have their prayers answered.
The official Star Wars site has announced that the original 1977 space epic will be getting re-released in 2027 to mark its 50th (!!!) anniversary:
On February 19, 2027, we’ll celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Wars with a re-release of the 1977 original back for a limited time, in theaters everywhere.
Part of Lucasfilm’s yearlong 50th anniversary celebration, a newly restored version of the classic Star Wars (1977) theatrical release — later renamed Star Wars: A New Hope — will play in theaters for a limited time.
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Calling it a ‘once-in-a-generation event’, this is the first time the original cut of the movie will have been seen on cinema screens since Lucas released the Special Edition in 1997, which featured new (and previously deleted scenes) and updated special effects so it would fit in better with the then-upcoming prequels.
While this is certainly good news for old-school fans (personally, I prefer the Special Editions… mostly), this goes again Lucas’ own wishes as he said he saw the original cuts as only half-finished and he didn’t want them re-released as he now saw The Special Editions as the definitive version: “I’m a firm believer that the director, or the writer, or the filmmaker should have a right to have his movie be the way he wants it.”
Speaking about the 1993 Laserdisc release of the original movies, he said “everybody got really mad”: “They said, ‘It looks terrible.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I know it did.’ That is what it looked like.”
So, make of that what you will… will you be going to see the original cut? Even if it goes against what the maker himself wanted? Tough call…
Thoughts? I know you have them and I wanna hear ’em all.
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Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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