Amazingly, next year is the 50th anniversary of Star Wars, as the original movie (A New Hope) was first released in theaters on May 25, 1977. While it has become an entertainment juggernaut, spawning movies, TV shows, video games, toys — heck, just about everything — the original trilogy remains the most popular and nostalgic part of this legendary franchise.
Star Wars is a big part of my life, as I’m not only a fan but I also regularly use scenes from across the Star Wars universe to test the best TVs and best soundbars. The throne room lightsaber fight in Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a feast for the eyes, while the Death Star attack run in Star Wars A New Hope is a wonderful audio test, especially with Dolby Atmos.
The Special Editions were George Lucas’ ‘true vision’ and featured new scenes and CGI implementations, most notably the Jabba The Hutt and Han Solo scene in Mos Eisley (which was cut from the original 1977 version). To say these changes were divisive is an understatement. People mainly took issue with the random, distracting CGI creatures shoe-horned into scenes.
Just give us what we want, Disney
As both a Star Wars and 4K Blu-ray fan, I, like many of my nerd family, have been clamoring for a 4K Blu-ray release of the theatrical cut of the original Star Wars trilogy. No CGI, no extra scenes, no screwed-around-with edits: the original cut. (And ideally I’d like it with upscaled textures, some lovely Dolby Vision HDR and a full-fat Dolby Atmos soundtrack, thanks.)
The original trilogy, along with the rest of the ‘Skywalker Saga’, is already available on 4K Blu-ray and 4K streaming. While these do look and sound great, with the Dolby Vision and Atmos flavors I asked for above, these are again edited from the original cut and contain all the padding most Star Wars fans don’t want.
For any non-Star Wars fans reading and wondering why the original trilogy’s cuts haven’t been released, you can (allegedly) thank George Lucas. Reportedly, as part of the sale terms to Disney in 2012, the original, theatrical cut for Star Wars was never to be released on home media: only Lucas’ edited version. As Lucas himself said in 2024: “Sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it, but I want it to be the way I want it to be”. Damnit, George.
It’s gotten to the stage where fans are so rabid for the original cut that some have made what is referred to as ‘despecialized editions’ of the original trilogy, most famous of which is Harmy’s Despecialized Edition from 2011, in which the picture and audio improvements have stayed but all the CGI edits have been removed. The issue is, these editions are very rare and expensive. Anyone wanting the original trilogy on Blu-ray or 4K has to stick with the various cuts from the Special Editions onward. Or so we thought.
A New Hope (literally)
In June 2025, a ballot of BFI members went to a screening of the original cut of Star Wars: A New Hope, remastered and restored. And it’s now been confirmed on Star Wars official website that the original movie, in its theatrical cut glory, will be getting a run in theaters in 2027, first releasing February 19, to celebrate 50 years of the original. Huzzah!
While this isn’t the news of a physical media release I was hoping for, it’s a step in the right direction. We thought the original cut would never see the light of day again, but here it is — even if it is a ‘limited run’. But that’s not the only news.
At the tail end of 2025, several screenshots and video clips of Star Wars being remastered in 4K were leaked onto Imgur (as you’d expect, these are now long gone). This sent places like Reddit into a frenzy, with fans in this thread from r/blurayboutique hoping this was the news of a 4K home release we’d been waiting for.
Cut to 2026 and these could have been leaks from the announced 50th Anniversary theatrical run, but what if they weren’t? What if it was from a planned 4K Blu-ray release? What if Disney has finally decided to say, ‘screw George Lucas, let’s give Star Wars fans what they’ve been after?’
We’re all looking to new President of Star Wars Dave Feloni, a confessed Star Wars fan who’s worked on projects such as the excellent Star Wars: The Clone Wars cartoon, for answers on a 4K Blu-ray theatrical cut release. Help us Dave Feloni: you’re our only hope.
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james.davidson@futurenet.com (James Davidson)
