Disney has put the brakes on plans to release the second and third Star Wars prequels in 3D.
Star Wars honcho George Lucas announced plans to remake all six Star Wars movies in 3D back in 2010 and in February 2012 the first of them, The Phantom Menace, hit the big screen. But it didn't hit it very hard, debuting to just $23 million in the U.S., although Wikipedia says it has earned a little over $100 million in total. 3D-ized versions of the second and third flicks, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, were supposed to be released in September and October of this year, but that plan has now been scuttled.
"Lucasfilm has decided to postpone this fall's scheduled release of Star Wars Episodes II and III in 3D. Given the recent development that we are moving forward with a new Star Wars trilogy, we will now focus 100 percent of our efforts on Star Wars: Episode VII in order to ensure the best possible experience for our fans," it says. "We will post further information about our 3D release plans at a later date."
It's not a whole lot to go on, but it's also not terribly difficult to get the feeling that Disney is looking to distance itself from the prequel trilogy. It wouldn't be a terrible PR move given the not-entirely-positive reaction to the prequel trilogy and Lucas' ongoing meddling with the franchise, yet the irony is that those three movies feel far more Disney-esque than the originals. Whatever the reason, it looks like Hayden Christensen is going to remain utterly without depth for a long time to come.
Disney has put the brakes on plans to release the second and third Star Wars prequels in 3D.
Star Wars honcho George Lucas announced plans to remake all six Star Wars movies in 3D back in 2010 and in February 2012 the first of them, The Phantom Menace, hit the big screen. But it didn't hit it very hard, debuting to just $23 million in the U.S., although Wikipedia says it has earned a little over $100 million in total. 3D-ized versions of the second and third flicks, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, were supposed to be released in September and October of this year, but that plan has now been scuttled.
"Lucasfilm has decided to postpone this fall's scheduled release of Star Wars Episodes II and III in 3D. Given the recent development that we are moving forward with a new Star Wars trilogy, we will now focus 100 percent of our efforts on Star Wars: Episode VII in order to ensure the best possible experience for our fans," it says. "We will post further information about our 3D release plans at a later date."
It's not a whole lot to go on, but it's also not terribly difficult to get the feeling that Disney is looking to distance itself from the prequel trilogy. It wouldn't be a terrible PR move given the not-entirely-positive reaction to the prequel trilogy and Lucas' ongoing meddling with the franchise, yet the irony is that those three movies feel far more Disney-esque than the originals. Whatever the reason, it looks like Hayden Christensen is going to remain utterly without depth for a long time to come.
Andy Chalk: it looks like Hayden Christensen is going to remain utterly without depth for a long time to come.
Well played.
OT: Holy crap I can't believe so much common sense is being applied to Star Wars... It's been such a long time since that happened! Like every other piece of news since Lucasarts' sale, the shape of actually good new Star Wars is beginning to form!
Disney has put the brakes on plans to release the second and third Star Wars prequels in 3D.
Star Wars honcho George Lucas announced plans to remake all six Star Wars movies in 3D back in 2010 and in February 2012 the first of them, The Phantom Menace, hit the big screen. But it didn't hit it very hard, debuting to just $23 million in the U.S., although Wikipedia says it has earned a little over $100 million in total. 3D-ized versions of the second and third flicks, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, were supposed to be released in September and October of this year, but that plan has now been scuttled.
"Lucasfilm has decided to postpone this fall's scheduled release of Star Wars Episodes II and III in 3D. Given the recent development that we are moving forward with a new Star Wars trilogy, we will now focus 100 percent of our efforts on Star Wars: Episode VII in order to ensure the best possible experience for our fans," it says. "We will post further information about our 3D release plans at a later date."
It's not a whole lot to go on, but it's also not terribly difficult to get the feeling that Disney is looking to distance itself from the prequel trilogy. It wouldn't be a terrible PR move given the not-entirely-positive reaction to the prequel trilogy and Lucas' ongoing meddling with the franchise, yet the irony is that those three movies feel far more Disney-esque than the originals. Whatever the reason, it looks like Hayden Christensen is going to remain utterly without depth for a long time to come.
Still not a single word about re-releasing the original versions of the original trilogy in Bluray. Damnit Disney!
I don'e think that's actually Disney's call to make right now. I may have misheard this, but I think Fox still holds onto the DVD/blu-ray rights of the original and prequel trilogies for a few more years before they revert to Disney.
Well, good riddance I say! I got dragged to see Phantom Menace in 3d and it was awful. Compared to films actually shot in 3d, this post-conversion was atrocious. I haven't seen other movies that are post-coverted into 3D, but if they all end up looking like cardboard cut outs moving in front of different cut outs some distance away then I don't want to.
Give me HD Re-releases of the original theatrical versions, on Blu Ray or digital download. Use the original film, don't re-touch it, don't add in enhanced effects, or colour, or sound, just give my some of my favourite films ever how they looked when I was little and watching them on a giant screen through a projecter at my Grandad's.
Give me HD Re-releases of the original theatrical versions, on Blu Ray or digital download. Use the original film, don't re-touch it, don't add in enhanced effects, or colour, or sound, just give my some of my favourite films ever how they looked when I was little and watching them on a giant screen through a projecter at my Grandad's.
Seriously Disney, it's a license to print money.
This.
Even if Fox does still have rights, it would be in EVERYONE'S best interest to release HD versions of the original. I would buy that in a heartbeat.
Give me HD Re-releases of the original theatrical versions, on Blu Ray or digital download. Use the original film, don't re-touch it, don't add in enhanced effects, or colour, or sound, just give my some of my favourite films ever how they looked when I was little and watching them on a giant screen through a projecter at my Grandad's.
Seriously Disney, it's a license to print money.
I had them on VHS and recorded them digitally, but there a number of details that cleaned up in the remakes that did make the movies look cheesy.
Awww, that's too bad. I'm one of those deranged mutants that actually likes the prequels (Although the "romance" scenes in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith are a bit hard to watch), and was looking forward to seeing the whole series in theaters again.
Meh. Added 3D is the biggest garbage you can do to a film after Lucasing it. This is probably the best news since they said that M. Night Shyamalan was not going to direct Ep VII.
SirBryghtside: I still can't believe there's an Episode 7 coming out. It just feels... wrong.
I'm excited, cautiously, but still excited. I mean, we don't know what to expect. With the prequels we knew how things would end up, so it had an already known destination.
So glad to hear this, 3D is a waste of time in my opinion, which may be biased since I can't watch 3D films, but still. Aside from films made for it I guess.
That burn at the end of the article...the Force is strong with that one. Oh man, that was good!
Well, I can't say I'm torn up about this. I'm a huge fan of Star Wars, and I totally missed Episode I being re-released in 3D. It just sort of fell off the radar. Not that I would have gone to see it. I hate 3D (makes my eyes hurt) and I personally think Episode I is the best out of the prequels, and it's not that good. Now, if the original trilogy had been re-released, I would have sucked it up. I've never seen ANY of the originals in theaters, and I was looking forward to that.
I'm still curious about how they're going to handle Episode VII. Depending on what road they take, I'll either be super excited or end up dreading them.
From the headline, I thought this article was going to be about how the new Star Wars sequels Disney are working on wouldn't be released in 3D, not the remaining prequel films. Though if they followed that plan for the former as well, that would be no bad thing.
Star Wars honcho George Lucas announced plans to remake all six Star Wars movies in 3D back in 2010 and in February 2012 the first of them, The Phantom Menace, hit the big screen.
Although they're not saying they won't be remastering the original trilogy in 3D, it's a pretty safe bet that if they're killing the prequels, the original trilogy's not going to get that treatment, especially with the PR speak they just spouted about focusing on Ep7.
I'm going to make a bet with my girlfriend that the 7th movie will be a miss. (As in a success, but not a major one).
She believes it's going to redeem the series (along with making up for the games that previously came out..) so yeah looking forward to it. The bet will most likely be if she loses, she'll have to attend Anime Expo with me but if she wins, I shall have to attend Comic Con instead. An interesting bet indeed.
Besides that, I really wished they just release the original movies without any alterations or edits since Lucas gave up the license to his series. The originals held their own and I can't see why Disney doesn't just give the people what they want now after all these years.
Besides that, I really wished they just release the original movies without any alterations or edits since Lucas gave up the license to his series. The originals held their own and I can't see why Disney doesn't just give the people what they want now after all these years.
they did a while back, but this is just another case of pirates getting a better deal and not paying anything for it it doesnt take long to find a link to the unaltered trilogy online
Squilookle: Even so, if they released the original trilogy in 3D leading up to Ep VII, tell me you wouldn't go see them.
I wouldn't go see them. '3D' is garbage. We already see movies in 3D, that's how you tell when someone is in the foreground or the background. Shoving shit into my eyes with over exaggerated forced parallax is not 3D.
Squilookle: Even so, if they released the original trilogy in 3D leading up to Ep VII, tell me you wouldn't go see them.
I wouldn't go see them. '3D' is garbage. We already see movies in 3D, that's how you tell when someone is in the foreground or the background. Shoving shit into my eyes with over exaggerated forced parallax is not 3D.
Let me rephrase: if they released the original, pre-special edition trilogy in theatres leading up to Ep VII, tell me you wouldn't go see them. Even if they happened to release them in 3D.
Seeing that screencap of the end of RotJ with Hayden Christensen's untalented face plastered all over what used to be one of the most touching scenes of the movie for me just... physically hurts me.
And I think nobody was looking forward to these versions anyway.
Disney Shelves 3D Star Wars Sequels
Disney has put the brakes on plans to release the second and third Star Wars prequels in 3D.
Star Wars honcho George Lucas announced plans to remake all six Star Wars movies in 3D back in 2010 and in February 2012 the first of them, The Phantom Menace, hit the big screen. But it didn't hit it very hard, debuting to just $23 million in the U.S., although Wikipedia says it has earned a little over $100 million in total. 3D-ized versions of the second and third flicks, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, were supposed to be released in September and October of this year, but that plan has now been scuttled.
"Lucasfilm has decided to postpone this fall's scheduled release of Star Wars Episodes II and III in 3D. Given the recent development that we are moving forward with a new Star Wars trilogy, we will now focus 100 percent of our efforts on Star Wars: Episode VII in order to ensure the best possible experience for our fans," it says. "We will post further information about our 3D release plans at a later date."
It's not a whole lot to go on, but it's also not terribly difficult to get the feeling that Disney is looking to distance itself from the prequel trilogy. It wouldn't be a terrible PR move given the not-entirely-positive reaction to the prequel trilogy and Lucas' ongoing meddling with the franchise, yet the irony is that those three movies feel far more Disney-esque than the originals. Whatever the reason, it looks like Hayden Christensen is going to remain utterly without depth for a long time to come.
Sources: Deadline, Starwars.com
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