Jay G.

Yeah, it was a clarification that didn't need clarifying.

Luke screaming as he fell wasn't a great addition either, but at least that was removed again in later revisions.

hanshotfirst1138

Looks like chances of getting it for the 40th are slim and none. Sigh. It was one of the last hopes I had. I don't want to wait for blanking 2020. If we even do get it then.

Josh Z

Kathleen Kennedy, who took over Lucasfilm when George Lucas left, was recently asked if the films will be restored to their original theatrical versions. Her response was that will never happen.

http://www.nme.com/news/film/lucasfi...mpered-2059039

hanshotfirst1138

Obi-Wanma

She didn't say that it will never happen, she said that SHE wouldn't do it. She was his handpicked successor, so I don't find that surprising, but it won't always be her call. I find it hard to believe that Disney paid 4 billion for the franchise in order to let Lucas dictate to them what they could do with it.

mcnabb

Especially since they disregarded Lucas stories for the ST as he had nothing to do with the films now. They are not afraid of doing something in their best interest even if it offends Mr. Lucas.

I still believe they are waiting for the rights of the movies (except ANH) to expire in 2019 or 2020? They can put out a Super Duper Boxset of all the movies after Episode 9 and they will only need to settle for the rights to the Original SW.

Heck we waited 20 damn years since the inception of DVD for a quality version of the OOT, I can wait another 3 years!

Jay G.

The podcast interview in question:
http://steelewars.com/the_last_jedi_cast_interviews/

At about the 16:09 mark is the question. The interviewer asks whether the final cuts of "George's" films would be "altered over time." Kennedy's response: "I wouldn't touch those, are you kidding?"

I think it's a poorly phrased question, since it asks about "altering" films instead of "restoring" films, and it doesn't pin-point which films exactly; Kennedy may have thought the question was about arbitrary changes to all the earlier films, including the prequels.

The question immediately preceding it, at 15:33 is about the transition to Disney and whether there's a "contractual obligation that the films are locked into their current form." Kennedy's answer is as if she understood him to be asking about Disney influencing the new films in any way. Again, I think this question was poorly phrased, and I think Kathleen Kennedy just wasn't in the "head space" of the questions being in regard to restoring the original versions of the original trilogy at all.

Mike86

Yeah, it seems like she may have gotten confused and thought the interviewer meant are there plans for alterations to the films beyond what's been done by Lucas in terms of the various special editions.

I think the question about if we'll ever see the unaltered Original Trilogy should have been asked separately. At this point I'm still not holding my breath but I can't see a reason why Disney would refuse to release the unaltered films. I should just grab a copy of the Harmy editions to tide me over. I can't believe I still don't own the Original Trilogy on anything beyond the 2004 DVD set. I realize that there are changes present to that set but it was a gift from my parents for my birthday the year it came out and the change I despise most (the Vader "nooooooo" from the end of Return of the Jedi) isn't in that set.

JoeyOhhhh

Maybe they can replace the annual shareholder question about Song of the South with an original trilogy release

Josh Z

Disney's interest in Lucasfilm is in all the new movies, TV shows, video games, etc. they can churn out going forward, not in the old ones. In the corporation's mind, those are already played out.

Josh-da-man

Yeah, you sort of have to look at Disney's corporate culture.

They really aren't big on releasing extended editions or directors cuts of their movies. Any number of the Marvel movies, and Age of Ultron in particular, could have gotten an extended cut on home video, but didn't.

Whereas a studio like Warners has released extended cuts of all of their DCEU movies, extended cuts of all six Tolkien films, and a boxed set with five different versions of Blade Runner.

Lucasfilm, as an entity, doesn't seem interested in putting out the original versions of IV, V, and VI, and it's unlikely Disney gives a mouse's ass.

E Unit

Disney has also never had properties like Marvel and Disney prior to these acquisitions. They could conceivably forge their own ways of handling the material they've inherited, but clearly the old stuff isn't what's priority to them, only usage of the intellectual property so they can continue creating new stuff using what's already been established.

Jay G.

They also don't want to piss off Lucas too much, since even if he doesn't have direct creative control anymore, they do want him to give his tacit blessing to the series and where they're taking it.

In the interview linked to above Kathleen Kennedy talks about having George Lucas show up at Celebration this year. It's a good marketing ploy for them to keep George visible and involved in the promotion of the Star Wars brand.

That said, Lucas allowed the release of the original versions before as a "bonus" to the later versions, and Disney itself, while not actively creating a lot of alternate versions, has made releases that contain multiple versions of a film if they already exist (see the Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray, with 3 versions of the film).

Mabuse

After Lucas dies there will be some kind of effort to restore them. Something like Lawrence of Arabia.

Ranger

I wonder who'd show up at the 50th anniversary reunion.

Hamill, Ford and Lucas. And maybe Mayhew.

Michael Corvin

Anthony Daniels.

pinata242

I suppose that depends largely on the obituaries over the next 10 years.

E Unit

Star Wars deadpool?

GoldenJCJ

No way Mayhew makes it.

Josh-da-man

Is David Prowse still on the Lucasfilm shitlist since the sale to Disney?

hanshotfirst1138

If I weren't scared of learning that orange really is the new black, I'd have done this years ago. Shame that they're only 720p, but hey. Then there's burning it to a disc, creating a Blu-ray cover, finding a way to stomp the disc...

And get the same answer.

The harsh light of day.

Which is particularly weird given how corporately hungry they've always notoriously been.

They've had a while now, so I don't see them changing.

Why does what Lucas thinks matter at all? He's sold Star Wars. It's not his. If he doesn't like what they do with it, isn't that kind of too bad for him?

I'd really rather not get them if they're contingent on the death of a human being.

Jay G.

Did you not even read what you quoted?
It's about PR, not about legality.

stingermck

I understand pimping George out to the fans, but dont most fans hate him now?

Jay G.

I don't have any numbers, but I doubt it. There's a group of fans that hate the prequels, and a smaller group of fans that hate that he's hidden away the original versions of the original trilogy. However, a lot of fans still like him, as evidenced by his popularity at the recent convention.

Also, it may depend on whom you classify as "fans," but there's tons of people that like the Star Wars movies, but don't obsess about the finer details, and don't follow much of the behind-the-scenes stuff and obsessive nit-picking. These people liked the prequels well enough, and shrug off the changes to the original trilogy. They know George Lucas made Star Wars, but that's about it. They may not even be aware he's no longer directly involved.

However, if new sites ran the headline "Creator of Star Wars upset about changes Disney made to his films," you'd have a lot of people giving Disney the side-eye. It's just not good press. Disney wants to keep the story around the Star Wars films positive. Pissing off George isn't worth it.

Again, though, this doesn't necessarily count out the release of the original versions of the original trilogy, provided it's done in a way that doesn't upset George too much. Releasing them as "alternate cuts" or "bonuses" to a release that frame's George's cuts as the default option could mollify him.

Ranger

I think most fans still respect Lucas for the OT.

Episode IX is out May 2019 so no doubt a 9-movie set iwll be released in Fall 2019. I imagine that the first six will have the Fox logo & fanfare. I'd be curious if they'd remaster the OT - even just the SEs - for that set. I mean, it'd be eight years after the first blu-ray release in 2011.