The Version Of Star Wars No One Ever Thought We'd See Again Is Coming Back To Theaters

There are news days and then there are news days, and this is turning out to be very much the latter. Only hours removed from the frankly industry-shaking announcement that Netflix has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire the studio and streaming assets of Warner Bros. Discovery, we've now received word of yet another monumental development. Many fans had given up on ever seeing this come to pass, but this has provided ... a new hope.

In a thrilling announcement, Disney and Lucasfilm have revealed that they're preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of "Star Wars" in style. The original 1977 blockbuster is slated for a buzzy re-release in theaters, but that's not the headline-making news here. Parsing the language of the press release, it appears that this will be the original version that audiences first saw on the big screen when George Lucas' classic sci-fi adventure first premiered — not the subsequently tampered-with version that accompanied the original trilogy's re-release on home media, timed to its 20th anniversary in 1997 and prior to the arrival of "The Phantom Menace" two years later. The short-and-sweet announcement reads as follows:

On February 19, 2027, we'll celebrate the 50th anniversary of 'Star Wars' with a re-release of the 1977 original back for a limited time, in theaters everywhere.

Part of Lucasfilm's yearlong 50th anniversary celebration, a newly restored version of the classic 'Star Wars' (1977) theatrical release — later renamed 'Star Wars: A New Hope' — will play in theaters for a limited time.

Switch on your targeting computer and keep your eyes on StarWars.com for more details, including when and where to buy tickets to this once-in-a-generation event.

See that middle portion? Referencing a "newly restored version" of the "classic 'Star Wars' (1977) theatrical release"? That means the original, original cut, baby!

The seemingly impossible has become possible. While Lucasfilm is playing oddly coy about the exact nature of this re-release, critic Germain Lussier of io9 has confirmed that the print shown in theaters will, in fact, be a restored version of the same one that moviegoing audiences first saw and fell in love with almost exactly 50 years ago. Of course, generations since 1997 have been subjected to the so-called "Special Editions" that were meant to improve (although most would say they tarnished) Lucas' original vision for his grand trilogy of space operas. They featured updated effects, added background characters and extras, and completely altered some scenes — the less said about the "Greedo shot first" and Maclunkey shenanigans, the better.

Word first broke about a potential re-release of the 1977 "Star Wars" in August of this year, raising faint hopes in certain online circles that it might actually represent the long-awaited white whale of many a "Star Wars" fan. A mess of legal rights and an unwillingness on Lucasfilm's part to go against George Lucas' wishes all but confirmed that this would never become a reality. But recent years have brought about a renewed sense of hope, especially after Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy herself was in attendance for a screening of the first print of "Star Wars" for the British Film Institute in January of 2025.

Whatever machinations had to happen behind the scenes to make this possible will surely come to light in the days, weeks, or months ahead, but for now? We can bask in the glory of finally having a key piece of film history restored — without the necessity of pirating the so-called "Despecialized Edition." Thank the Maker!