Star Wars re-release?

I've looked everywhere I can think of. I've seen people saying they've heard from people at Lucasfilm or various distributors one way and the other, I was pointed to a thread on here wondering if Disney :rolleyes is gonna release un-Special Editioned versions of the Original Trilogy... but I have not found a straight answer anywhere, so I put it plinly here.

Does anyone actually know for sure, one way or another, whether the first six films will see even a limited re-release prior to the new one's opening next December?

I've seen it said that striking new prints would be more expensive than the returns they'd get, which I think is bunk. There are a lot of prints already made that are only as old as 1997. I know Lucasfilm has all six in digital format -- it's how they showed them at Celebration IV on their own equipment they trucked down to LA from San Rafael. So every theater that can show digital films can order a 4K Blu-Ray from LFL. So...


No -- that's not it.

I know there are potential sticking points vis-a-vis Disney and Fox, and Fox still holds distribution rights if Lucasfilm wants to put Star Wars back in theaters in even a limited release. I know it's a different story if an individual theater approaches Fox wanting a print for a special event or some such. I, for one, am still hopeful Fox will actually see the dollars involved in being attached to this money train and not only agree to a re-release, but also offer to handle distribution for the new films. That way, we'd still have the fanfare.

My theory of what we can look forward to is that we'll get a second, longer teaser during the Super Bowl, then the first trailer and maybe an announcement or two on May The Fourth. I'd place a modest bet that that's when any re-release would be announced, but I'm not going to wait to start poking around. :lol

--Jonah

Was this the thread you were talking about?

http://www.therpf.com/f47/could-disney-finally-give-us-remastered-unedited-star-wars-we-want-213335/

Yup. I've known since the Special Editions were being made that all the original negatives have been digitally scanned, so the raw material is all already in an infinitely-manipulable form in the computer. That thread is a lovely dissertation on copyright law, the difference between licensing and ownership, and a ot of argument about what constitutes the "original" version and about the changes Lucas made to the story over the years.

I'm bringing back around to the original unanswered question. Original or Sooper Speshul Awesome Edition, digital or film, Fox or Disney, Phantom Menace being aired in Asia on cable, when rights revert to whom, I don't care about any of that. Just the primary point -- is some version of the existing five films going to be screened in more than one theater prior to Episode VII opening in December 2015.

--Jonah

My bet: No.

Because: Licensing.