4. May 2017 09:10
by jedi1
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By 1985, Star Wars was over. The toys and comics were no longer being sold, the original trilogy had come to an end and Lucas was so burned out from the experience (and devastated both emotionally and financially by his divorce from Marcia) that he had no desire to rush into creating the prequel trilogy he had come up with as part of the back story for The Empire Strikes Back.
The late 1980s were a dark time for Star Wars fans, but then in 1991 Timothy Zahn wrote Heir to the Empire, an instant best seller which seemed to remind the world (including Lucas) that Star Wars was still loved by a great many people. Suddenly, Star Wars was back, lots more books, magazines, computer games, VHS and laserdisc reissues would follow.
One of those new magazines from the 1990s was Star Wars Galaxy, the first issue of which came out in the Fall of 1994. On Page 6 the big inside news from Lucasfilm was that the "Star Wars Special Edition is a 'Go'":
For months the buzz inside, and outside, Hollywood has been that George Lucas is secretly at work on an expanded version of the original Star Wars. As the first issue of Star Wars Galaxy Magazine goes to press, Lucasfilm Ltd. has confirmed that indeed the Star Wars Special Edition is under way. It is scheduled for a theatrical release in 1997 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the film’s debut.
The advent of digital imaging technology as pioneered by Industrial Light & Magic—Lucasfilm’s special effects division that was employed in such recent films as Jurassic Park, The Mask and Forrest Gump—will enable George to produce the version he originally intended but which could not be completed using the technologies available to him in the mid-1970s.
Most of the enhancements featured in the Special Edition will involve Mos Eisley, offering a never-before-seen articulation of background creatures who inhabit that “wretched hive of scum and villainy” (as Obi-Wan described Tatooine’s spaceport city to Luke in Star Wars). Also look for a scene in which Han confronts Jabba the Hutt—filmed in 1976 but not included in the original film. Topping things off will be a new sound mix that takes advantage of today’s digital sound formats. Theatrical distribution of the Special Edition will be handled by the original distributor of Star Wars, Twentieth Century-Fox.
Following the Special Edition in 1997, Lucasfilm plans to release the first of the all-new Star Wars trilogy movies in 1998. Watch for more details on these late-breaking developments in future issues of Star Wars Galaxy Magazine.
