Rumor: Disney Ad Fuels Speculation Of 'Star Wars' Digital Re-Release

The only thing some Star Wars fans want more than Episode VII is for Fox and/or Disney to re-release the original Star Wars trilogy in its pre-Special Edition form. Rumors have come and gone about Disney planning just such a release, and each time they've been hampered by logic and lack of evidence. Fox has distribution for the original Star Wars, for one, and holds distribution rights to the other 2/3 of the original trilogy through 2020. Could Fox work with Disney on a re-release? Yes. Will they? That's a very different question. And then you've got to factor in the slim chance of the pre-Special Edition versions being officially given new life.

But still, a new Italian ad for Disney's digital portal service is bringing the rumor back up again. Is there any more reason to believe it now than there was the last time this concept cropped up?

Before we go any further here's the ad, followed by a translation of the Italian voice-over, from FilmDivider:

Enter Disney's magical world, with the brand new site disney.it. All your favourite Disney characters await you, including the most engaging TV series and plenty of exclusive videos and content. Amazing apps and games and a online community to share your passions. All of this, simply from any PC, tablets or smartphones. Carry the Disney magic always on you.

Clear evidence of an impending Star Wars re-release, right? Didn't you see the clips? There's footage from the '77 Star Wars! So, um, well... something. Granted, those clips are shown played on portable digital devices, and that isn't a method by which the Star Wars films can be legally purchased or rented at this time.

But those Star Wars clips could mean anything, especially since they're not used in a way that suggests customers will be able to purchase the films digitally. If they appeared earlier in the ad, during the portion clearly meant to show off digital film purchases and rentals, it might be more compelling.

In fact, they can't mean quite anything, as they almost certainly do not promise the opportunity to buy the original trilogy from Disney. And Disney acquiring distribution rights to the original trilogy would be massive industry news. We'll give Disney the benefit of the doubt and say it's not something that would be allowed to leak through an ad such as this.

Perhaps this ad campaign is simply playing things a bit loose, using clips from Star Wars to suggest that there will be SW content of some form available via the portal. Maybe it's just being used to attact fans. (That worked!)

Before the December 2015 release of the new film, there's good reason to bet that a digital release of the original trilogy will be available. Whether it comes from Fox alone, or Fox and Disney working in conjunction is something we can't answer.