Right now there are too many commentaries over the news of Lucas selling Star Wars to Disney, so what can I say about this issue that hasn’t already been said? I’m not a Star Wars fan (but I truly do appreciate it for what it is), so I can’t talk from the perspective of a Star Wars fan, but I do have something I’d like to mention that might please the fans. This being the internet, I think someone already brought this up, but I’ll say this anyway.
I’m not too concerned with how they’re going to make the next Star Wars films (apparently the first one’s going to be released in 2015), but frankly there can’t be anything worse than the Star Wars prequels. This has created a hatred over George Lucas for ruining the original trilogy. By this point, I think Disney is fully aware of this. Whether they make something ok, bad, or just disappointing, it couldn’t be worse than the prequels are. HOW can they make it worse? Apparently, as far as Star Wars comes in the film and TV medium, the only good thing that has come out of the name Star Wars is the original Star Wars trilogy itself. Although I could be wrong about that.
People have drawn out heavy criticism towards George Lucas for numerous reasons, not just for making the prequels, but for the notable additional changes to the original Star Wars movies to make it more consistent with the prequels: adding some CG stuff here and there, modifying actors (like the infamous image above), the scene which started the whole “Who Shot First? Han Solo or Guido?” controversy, all that stuff. Well, you know what? Disney acquiring the rights to Star Wars would mean that, while we wait for the next movie in 2015, we’re probably going to see more merchandise. Disney emphasises on merchandise a lot. So something Disney should include along with the merchandise, and give to the Star Wars fans as a real treat… are the original movies, And I mean the original theatrical release and UNCUT. For a Star Wars fan, that would make their heart explode!
Can you imagine how many Star Wars fans have been dying to tell George Lucas this? And can you imagine for how long??? Now that Disney has the acquisition, and we’ll probably be seeing more Star Wars merchandising anyway, why not just sell the original trilogy into a DVD and Blu-Ray box-set (without the prequels) along with that merchandise? Or first have the films re-released into the theatres in their original cuts and THEN sell them into DVD and Blu-Ray box sets? Their company will become beyond richer than they already are! This would also become a great strategy to recognise the fan base much better. What made the original so great that holds up even to this day? How can they incorporate that into the new films? This would really work. The Star Wars fans would become much more pleased than they already are, and the new generation will be able to appreciate the greatness of the original films. If new audiences are given the versions with all the modifications, then it sorta defeats the whole purpose of the films, doesn’t it? The visual effects looked very good and hold up to this day, so why replace some of it with CG? It’s just out of place. How will the new generation be able to recognise the visual greatness of the original Star Wars films from 1977 to 1983?
I’m pretty sure that the fans out there, sooner or later, are gonna tell Disney: “Please… PLEASE release the original theatrical cuts! It would make us extremely happy!” The old fans get something new and fresh out of Star Wars with the new upcoming films, and also get something they know and love on DVD and Blu-Ray. I may not love Star Wars as much as they do, but for the fans: OH, wouldn’t that be fantastic?
All this would bring something good for the Disney Company, and something good for both old and new audiences! Everybody wins!
But wait! What about George Lucas? How will he react when he finds out about this? If it ever happens? Well, I may not know him as a person, and I have no real claim to say what’s going on in anyone’s head, but I think he was quite stubborn when it came to what people thought of the changes to the original trilogy. He probably refused to believe that the changes to the original films were a mistake, and didn’t take much notice on the number of complaints that people had for him. I know it’s his work and he can do whatever he wants with it, but he should take into account that these films are the subject of an audience (although that really depends on the circumstances, like what kind of audience we’re talking about, etc). If the whole re-release of the original uncut trilogy were ever to occur and become a massive success, I’m curious to know whether his attitude will change, or whether he’ll stand by his viewpoint. We’ll just have to see.
If you want to read the article about what we’d like to see in the new Star Wars films, here’s the article from The Guardian.
So far we haven’t received any news about any re-releases in theatres or in DVD and Blu-Ray, so in the meantime, let’s wait and see.
May the force be with ya.
