Star Wars Theatrical Cut Finally Available on Streaming (But for How Long?)

Star Wars is one of the most recognizable brands in the world, and there are legions of fans who have watched all of the movies many times over the years. That said, there is one version of the original Star Wars: A New Hope that has been much harder to watch, especially on streaming. That version is the original theatrical cut without a host of changes that were made after 1981, which is why it’s such a big deal that as of right now the film is available on streaming, provided you have Roku and can find the app called Cinema Box (via Men’s Journal). It’s disappeared a few times before, so there’s no telling how long it will stay there, so if you want to watch it you should probably seek it out sooner rather than later.

The reason this version is difficult to track down is that at a certain point, George Lucas made several changes to the film and that would be the default standard version of the film. One way you can identify the original cut is that it does not include the subtitle A New Hope in the opening credits, and that’s the version that is currently on Cinema Box.

In 1981 Lucas added Episode IV, A New Hope to the opening crawl, but this version doesn’t include that, though you will still find A New Hope on the list when you search for the film on the service.

In the streaming age, it has been far more difficult to track this version down, as the Special Editions of the film have been the ones mostly featured on services. You can of course watch the VHS tapes or Laserdisc versions, and there is a 2006 DVD version that contains the theatrical cut of the film, but you are going to not only have to find them but also pick up some tech to actually play them on your TV.

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The theatrical cut is currently available on Cinema Box, but you never know when this might change. Cinema Box currently only works on an app on a Roku or Roku TV, so it doesn’t appear to be available on desktop or mobile.

Will you be checking out the original theatrical cut of Star Wars? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things Star Wars with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!