The Original Star Wars Is Heading To IMAX To Celebrate The Saga's Biggest Milestone Yet

George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope" was released on May 25, 1977, and it changed the face of cinema. The film was so overwhelmingly successful that it forced the public to rethink just what a blockbuster was. After a decade of intense, adult, low-budget dramas dominating American theaters, many likely saw "Star Wars" as a relief, a lightweight, morally unambiguous space adventure for the whole family. In 2027, the film will turn 50 years old after half a century of sequels, prequels, TV specials, video games, theme park rides, streaming shows, animated series, and several landfills' worth of merchandise and toys. If it was once a refreshing antidote, the "Star Wars" franchise is now the dominant paradigm.

To celebrate the occasion (per a press release issued by Lucasfilm), a newly-restored version of the original 1977 iteration of "Star Wars" will be released theatrically on February 19, 2027, including in the rare 70mm IMAX format. This will be a striking blow-up for the movie, which was shot on 35mm film. It will also mark the first time "Star Wars" has ever been shown on IMAX screens, either on film or digitally.

"Star Wars" has been re-released in theaters before, of course. Back in early 1997, the movie and its first two sequels ("The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi") were all re-released as "Special Editions" that featured some additional scenes and brushed-up special effects. These Special Editions soon became controversial due to their changes, though, which makes the 50th anniversary re-release of the original 1977 edit of "Star Wars" a real coup.

One of the reasons the Special Editions are controversial is that they came to supplant the initial cuts of the original "Star Wars" film trilogy. There are many theories as to why George Lucas did this, but whatever his reasoning, the fan reaction has been mixed. Some fans defend the Special Edition edits as being purer versions of Lucas' original vision that were realized once visual effects technology had caught up with his ideas. Others see them as useless tinkering that uses new-fangled digital trickery to "improve" something that was already perfectly fine. Indeed, many people love the original trilogy in its earliest form, even with scratches and thumbprints all over it.

The "improvements" can also be baffling, with Lucas having added scenes, digital details, and even new dialogue that some folks hate. Why does the character Greedo (Paul Blake) shoot first and say "Maclunkey!" now? Such a change doesn't improve anything.

Suffice it to say, this theatrical re-release of the 1977 edit of "Star Wars" has been a long time coming. Some fans have been produced unauthorized 4K restorations of the original "Star Wars" trilogy in the meantime, keeping its integrity intact. Nevertheless, this 2027 version may be the biggest, best, and otherwise purest iteration of the film ever to be seen. And it's not the only "Star Wars" movie getting the rare 70mm IMAX treatment in 2027, either.

Along with the 1977 edit of "Star Wars," Lucasfilm has confirmed that Shawn Levy's upcoming epic "Star Wars: Starfighter" will be getting the Tiffany treatment as well. As noted in the studio's press release, Levy's "Star Wars" picture will be converted to 70mm IMAX film for its theatrical rollout in select areas.

"Starfighter" stars Ryan Gosling as Kade Auberon, a character who's described in the film's official synopsis as "a cynical rogue." When Kade is "confronted by his mysterious past, he is hurled into a dangerous adventure across the galaxy that puts him on a crash course with destiny." That's pretty vague, of course, but it's probably too early to expect to know much else about the movie's plot this far out.

When it arrives on May 28, 2027, "Starfighter" will only be the second "Star Wars" movie released in theaters this decade after the box office disappointment of this year's "The Mandalorian and Grogu." Mind you, we've still been inundated with "Star Wars" films over the last five decades, and they tend to result in a whole lot of analysis and debate. No doubt, "Starfighter" will keep that tradition going strong when it gets here.