Star Wars fans everywhere rejoiced last year when news broke that, for the 50th anniversary of A New Hope, Lucasfilm would finally do the impossible. It was going to release the unedited, original version of the film that has been largely unavailable since 1997. However, much like a very memed plot point in The Rise of Skywalker, something else is happening first. “Somehow, the Special Editions returned.”
This week, several Star Wars-themed websites noticed that Amazon had a preorder for a brand new Blu-ray release of the original trilogy: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. The sites also noticed that runtimes lined up with the Special Edition versions of the film. Those George Lucas edits that have long been the only way to officially watch Star Wars for almost 30 years. It seemed like a weird move so close to that highly anticipated original re-release, but io9 can confirm it’s real and it’s the Special Editions. Here is the box art for the release, which is coming on April 7 and costs $68.
Now, if you’ve been paying attention for the past 50 years, this is nothing new. Lucasfilm, or whoever owns the company at the time, has been releasing Star Wars on physical media in new editions for decades. Even before the 1997 Special Editions were released, the films had multiple VHS and laserdisc releases. Then, once the Special Editions came out, it kind of went into hyperspeed. Seemingly every few years, especially around the releases of both the prequel and sequel trilogies, new physical media versions hit shelves. In total, there have been about 10 total re-releases of the original trilogy since the late 1990s, according to Wookieepedia. Some with new special features, some with new artwork, but basically every time, just the Special Editions.
Well, with the 2027 50th anniversary looming, it seems the company is getting one more bite at the apple, at least. Which is fine. Surely there are fans out there who are looking for a new Blu-ray release, and now they’ll have it. And while no plans have been announced yet for the original films to get the original physical media release of our dreams, you know it’s coming. And then it’ll come again. And again. And eventually, maybe fans will be so nostalgic for “Jedi Rocks” that we’ll get a 75th anniversary rerelease of the Special Editions. One never knows.
What we do know is that, as long as people love Star Wars, the movies will continue to be re-released in new formats, old formats, or whatever formats are out there. This is the latest version and, potentially, one of the last of the Special Editions. At least, we hope.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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