Original Cut of Star Wars: A New Hope Returning to Theaters for 50th Anniversary

In 1997, the special edition of the original Star Wars trilogy was released, commemorating the 20th anniversary of Star Wars: A New Hope. As most people know, these versions of the films contained notable changes, inserting new scenes and updating the visual effects. George Lucas continued to tinker with the movies for subsequent re-releases on home media platforms, culminating with Greedo’s infamous “maclunkey” line that debuted on Disney+. Many of these changes proved to be very controversial, particularly drawing ire from fans who grew up with the theatrical versions. Making matters worse is that the special editions essentially replaced the original cuts on the market, becoming part of the official Star Wars canon. For years, fans have wished for Disney or Lucasfilm to bring those original theatrical versions back, and now it’s finally happening.

It has already been confirmed that Star Wars: A New Hope is returning to theaters in 2027 to celebrate the film’s 50th anniversary. The release date was initially set for April 2027, but it’s now been pushed back to February 2027. In addition, fans now know which version of A New Hope will be screened. In an update on the official Star Wars website, it was announced that “a newly restored version of the classic Star Wars (1977) theatrical release” will play on the big screen.

What We Know About the New Hope Theatrical Re-Release

With the New Hope re-release so far away, fans can’t order tickets yet. The only other bit of information that’s been confirmed is that the film will play “for a limited time.” An exact window hasn’t been set yet, and recent Star Wars history doesn’t offer much in the way of potential clues. In 2024, The Phantom Menace returned to theaters for its 25th anniversary and ran for 28 days throughout May. Earlier this year, there was a 20th anniversary re-release for Revenge of the Sith, which lasted all of six days domestically. That’s a wide range, making it difficult to predict how long A New Hope will be in theaters.

The fact that the original theatrical cut will be shown in theaters for the first time in decades makes the A New Hope re-release an even bigger event than it already was. Because of that, Lucasfilm could opt for a shorter window a la Revenge of the Sith, creating a greater sense of demand for tickets. If the engagement is one-week only, interested fans could quickly sell out screenings. However, there’s also merit to the Phantom Menace approach, giving people a little bit of leeway. Some people who want to see Star Wars on the big screen may not be able to make it opening week, so it would be nice if the 50th anniversary re-release lasted a handful of weeks, allowing more moviegoers to be part of the festivities.

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Interestingly, this won’t be the only time in the Disney era Lucasfilm has shown the original cut of A New Hope to an audience. Over the summer, the theatrical version played at an officially sanctioned screening during the BFI Film on Film Festival. Lucasfilm continuing to spotlight the unaltered edition is exciting (it’s an important bit of film preservation), and makes one wonder if there are any plans in place to give The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi similar treatments. If the studio is able to “newly restore” A New Hope, they conceivably could do the same thing for the trilogy’s other installments, which will be celebrating their 50th anniversaries in the not-too-distant future.

The other big question is whether or not this opens the door for the theatrical cuts to receive an official home media release — something that hasn’t happened since those versions were included as extras on DVDs in the 2000s. Lucasfilm easily could have put the latest revised iteration of A New Hope back in theaters, but they went the extra mile to deliver the original cut. It would be a shame if it only played in theaters for a week or so and then went back into the vault, never to be seen again. There would be a lot of money to be made from a box set packaging restorations of the unaltered original Star Wars trilogy, but time will tell if that comes to pass. Even if this new restoration is only available in theaters, many longtime Star Wars fans probably thought they’d never get this opportunity, so this is something special.

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