'Ant-Man & Wasp' Director Pleads To Lucasfilm To Release Unedited 'Star Wars' Trilogy

Twenty Years Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away…

Writer and director George Lucas' original space opera was released to theaters as Star Wars in 1977, receiving its "Episode IV — A New Hope" subtitle years later in 1981 during a theatrical re-release. Following VHS and LaserDisc releases of the untouched films as seen in theaters (with the exception of some light janitorial touchups), an altered re-release was made available for fans to own in 1997: the infamous and often criticized "Special Editions."

It was then that Lucas, primary creative force behind the Original Trilogy, began to tinker with arguably the most cherished trio of films ever to reach the screen. Star Wars celebrated its 20th anniversary with a face lift, receiving alterations more akin to reconstructive surgery than just cosmetic corrections: matte paintings were replaced with digital versions, computer generated creations were inserted, special effects were "fixed," scenes were changed, even if just marginally, and — most blasphemous of all — Han Solo, roguish space pirate, returned fire at an attacking Greedo in self-defense. In the Special Edition, Han didn't shoot first.

A New Hope

Twenty years on, an entire generation has grown up with the Special Editions as their Star Wars. As the only versions available on Blu-ray, they're the "official" versions of Star Wars, to the chagrin of fans old and young alike. George Lucas sold Lucasfilm and the entirety of Star Wars to Disney in 2012, and the creator's departure from the franchise gave hope to fans who wished to be able to own the original, unaltered versions of the Original Trilogy in high definition.

The physical distribution rights for the Original and Prequel trilogies won't be handed off from 20th Century Fox to Disney until 2020 — except for A New Hope, whose rights are contractually retained by Fox in perpetuity — but if the two studios hash out a deal for Disney to own the 1977 original Star Wars, fans could be treated to a 4K iteration of the film as seen in theaters.

May The 4K Be With You

In December, Rogue One director Gareth Edwards implied a 4K version of Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope could be on the way. "On day one, we were in Lucasfilm in San Francisco with Industrial Light and Magic and John Knowles, our supervisor, he said that they've got a brand new 4K restoration print of A New Hope — it had literally just been finished," Edwards said. "He suggested we sit and watch it."

Speculation arose that a possible 4K Blu-ray would be released this year in celebration of Star Wars' 40th anniversary, but no such luck. 2017 did see the release of Disney's first-ever 4K UHD — Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 — but it seems, at least for now, there are no public plans for Star Wars in 4K. And if or when Star Wars is again released on home media, it's likely they won't be the "original, unmessed-with" versions.

Even with George Lucas out of the picture, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy seemed to shoot down the idea of unaltered releases earlier this year, telling the Steelewars podcast, "I wouldn't touch those, are you kidding me? [Laughs] Those will always remain his."

Kennedy and Disney are also focused on the now, and will release Star Wars: The Last Jedi — the eighth episode of the legendary saga — December 15. Reed is hard at work filming Ant-Man and the Wasp, which will reunite stars Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly as an ant-sized superhero team. Ant-Man and the Wasp opens July 6, 2018.