Fans will get to watch Han shooting first in theaters.
2027 will mark 50 years since the release of the very first Star Wars movie and Lucasfilm has officially announced it will re-release the original 1977 version in theaters for a limited time.
It’s news that Star Wars fans thought they would never read after George Lucas’s constant tinkering with the original film over the years; infamously altering scenes such as ‘Han shot first’ and adding CGI effects to the chagrin of many.
However, a lucky few have already watched the original Star Wars movie, later renamed Star Wars: A New Hope, after it was shown at a theater in London this past summer: The British Film Institute played the movie twice at its Film on Film festival. Gizmodo reports that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy attended one of the screenings with a view to giving the original print a wider release.
Since its release in 1977, Lucas has made controversial editing decisions such as Han Solo being shot at by the bounty hunter Greedo first, rather than the original in which anti-hero Han killed Greedo without being shot at. Then there is the addition of a CGI Jabba the Hutt who was originally only mentioned by name. Fans have also complained about the color grading painted on re-releases.
The edits have prompted fans to hunt down the original 1970s film reels, hoping to once again experience the original color and soft grain. A group called Team Negative One has scoured eBay and private collections in search of the original Technicolor release print, which they then scan in 4K, clean in 4K, and render in 4K.
The 2011 Blu-ray version, top. A fan restored 4K version, bottom.
Over the years, Lucas has dismissed such fan concerns while calling the 1997 special edition versions definitive. “Even the 35 million tapes of Star Wars out there won’t last more than 30 or 40 years,” Lucas has said. “A hundred years from now, the only version of the movie that anyone will remember will be the DVD version.” But perhaps he is now softening.
The re-release of A New Hope is part of “Lucasfilm’s yearlong 50th anniversary celebration” and while tickets are not on sale just yet, Disney will share details on how to buy them from StarWars.com.
