The force goes hi-def at last...

Following Fox's decision to release the Alien saga in a new Blu-ray edition this fall, it's been confirmed that the Star Wars saga is coming to Blu-ray in 2011. IGN's interview with Lucasfilm's fan-relations manager Steve Sansweet unearthed this long-awaited news. Until now the only versions of the 1977-2005 movies have been illegally re-distributed versions from high-definition TV broadcasts.

Sansweet says: "We have been at work for a couple of years working on—I won’t call it the Ultimate Set because we keep finding stuff—but, a very full set of all six movies on Blu-ray with lots of extra material. We’re finding all kinds of scenes from dailies that have never been seen before. Beyond all of those things that you know about… there are some real treasures."

'We keep finding stuff' - I'll bet they do. There will never, ever be a 'definitive' edition of these movies, even if Blu-ray should prove to be the very last movie communications media ever invented.

Sansweet also discussed the 3D conversions of the Star Wars movies to date:

"George has publicly expressed an interest in doing Star Wars 3D. Right now there are a number of different technologies, there’s some criticism out there about some of the movies that have quickly changed to 3D, so you have to pick the right technology, you have to get it to a cost that makes sense, and you have to have the time of the director and producer — George — to actually go in there, because you can’t push a button and stuff goes in one end and comes out 3D…Saying all that, George remains very interested in doing the Star Wars movies, all six, in 3D, and I hope it will happen someday in the not too distant future.”

One wonders additionally if Lucas will be able to resist the temptation to monkey around further with the actual content of the trilogy. Might Jar Jar disappear as much from Phantom Menace as he did from the two following prequels?

We had a good old think about what Lucas might change in a new Star Wars re-release (see the link below), but nonetheless, this announcement, long overdue, is definitely good news. We can't wait for the first of the next series of Star Wars re-releases.

Filmonic

See also:

What will George Lucas change in the next Star Wars re-release?

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