14 Years Ago, Star Wars Fans Got Tricked (And They’re Still Waiting on a Promise That Was Made)

When Avatar brought 3D back into the mainstream it took off for a few years. Alice in Wonderland, Jackass 3D, Tron: Legacy, Saw 3D, and Piranha 3D all released in 2010 for instance, and were either crafted to be displayed in 3D or were converted to accommodate that display method. So, it was really only a matter of time before movies that had proved themselves popular already were then converted in just the same way. That’s how we got the 2011 to 2013 3D re-release boom. Some of them were hits, e.g. The Lion King in 2011 ($186 million worldwide) and Titanic in 2012 ($350 million worldwide, most from international territories). Others were more middle of the line, like Beauty and the Beast in 2011 ($62 million worldwide) and Finding Nemo ($69 million worldwide) in 2012.

However, before Jurassic Park closed out this little run of re-releases in 2013, there was another one that was supposed to lead to more of the same. That would be Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, whose 2012 re-release made $102 million all told. And the plan was to continue re-releasing the remainder of the then-six-episode saga. Yet episodes two through six simply never happened. It ended up being a silly endeavor, with only the most despised Star Wars movie—at the time, anyway—getting the chance to reach out towards the audience. So, what happened with the other five?

Why Were Attack of the Clones Through Return of the Jedi Not Converted to 3D?

Disney purchased Lucasfilm on October 30, 2012. The Phantom Menace was released in 3D on February 10, 2012 and Star Wars: Attack of the Clones 3D was initially scheduled to debut on September 20, 2013. So, it makes perfect sense that the plan to release the whole six-film saga went away when the ship was suddenly being captained by someone else. Disney wanted to make their huge investment worth it, and instead of banking on this 3D trend lasting a few years, they decided to funnel all of their resources into building the start of the sequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Even still, like with the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy has found its entries re-released every now and then. Just last year Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith made $34 million domestically and $55.5 million worldwide in only a single week. Not to mention, The Phantom Menace was again put into wide release in May 2024, where it opened to $8.7 million domestically and closed with $13 million stateside and a further $6.4 million from overseas venues. Not bad, but certainly a chunk of change away from its opening of $22.5 million in 2012 and closing with over $100 million worldwide.

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The success of those later re-releases, and the fact that they still didn’t reach the high of The Phantom Menace 3D, serves to indicate that there was a market for these movies in 3D, perhaps leading right up to the 2015 release of The Force Awakens. It could have gone The Phantom Menace in February 2012, Attack of the Clones in September 2013, and then sped up with Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith in March 2014, Star Wars: A New Hope in September 2014, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in March 2015, and Return of the Jedi in September 2015 followed by the debut of The Force Awakens two months later.

But that brings to mind two big questions. One is just how many resources that would have taken away from The Force Awakens‘ production. Two, and just as importantly if not more so, is the question of whether there would have been any further interest in 3D re-releases. It could very well be that the novelty of seeing Star Wars on the big screen in 3D would have waned or even plummeted. Waned is more likely, but even then, it might be harder to justify spending $15 million per film on the conversion process.

Star Wars movies always attract attention when pushed into theaters, be it a new release or a re-release, 2D or 3D. There might be some debate about whether the sequel trilogy was worth making, but from a corporate perspective it makes full sense why Disney would opt for new over old. Even still, for those who can remember seeing The Phantom Menace in 3D, it was pretty fun. Especially the pod race scene. Perhaps it’s better to just be thankful we got that instead of yearning for the rest, because they certainly aren’t going to happen now that 3D films are a bit of a rarity.

Did you see The Phantom Menace in 3D? If you could have one film re-released now in the format, what would it be? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!