Disney’s next big move, the Star Wars sequel trilogy, wasn’t as well-received. The studio’s first major film, The Force Awakens, worked well as a by-the-numbers Star Wars story. Its follow-up, The Last Jedi, split the Star Wars fandom down the middle. Some people think it’s the best movie since The Empire Strikes Back, while others argue that it single-handedly ruined the Star Wars franchise. The trilogy’s finale, The Rise of Skywalker, is better left forgotten.
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During their journey through the sequel trilogy, Disney also took a stab at two spin-off films. Neither of the movies performed as well as Disney had hoped. Rogue One was an entertaining if unnecessary entry in the franchise. Solo, the Han Solo backstory film no one wanted, was dead on arrival.
It hasn’t all been bad news for Disney. They’ve also overseen one of the most popular, and most exciting, additions to the Star Wars franchise in decades. The Disney Plus show The Mandalorian has managed to introduce new plots and characters into Star Wars while still capturing everything that made the original trilogy a series of instant classics. Their newest show, The Bad Batch, could continue the trend and correct the franchise’s current trajectory.
Disney should keep working on great Star Wars shows. That said, if Disney wants to earn some good will with Star Wars fans before launching their next trilogy, there’s an easy path forward for them. It’s time for fans to get the remastered edition of Star Wars they truly deserve.
When the original Star Wars trilogy came to Disney Plus, fans really had just one question: which version are we getting? The movies haven’t been the same since they left theaters – literally.
It seems just about every release of Star Wars came with its own list of changes. George Lucas is known for being intensely dedicated to his own artistic vision. Unfortunately, his vision doesn’t tend to be very consistent. Each time Star Wars came as a new edition, Lucas made tweaks. Sometimes, he didn’t even wait that long. Lucas adjusted the ending to Empire while it was screening for the public.
Often Lucas’s edits to his vision were minor but perplexing. Was anyone really asking for CGI aliens to be inserted into A New Hope? Other changes have caused uproar among fans. The 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars contains the most egregious alteration. Lucas changed the confrontation between Han Solo and Greedo, and fans have been arguing whether or not Han shot first ever since.
The prequels didn’t escape Lucas’s editing tendencies. Adjustments were made from the theatrical release to the DVD editions, and more changes came with the Blu-Ray release of the films. Taken altogether, there are at least half a dozen different versions of each of the Star Wars films that came out while Lucas oversaw the franchise. At the moment, there really isn’t any such thing as an “official edition” for either trilogy.
Every Star Wars fan has their favorite edition, or at least their favorite way to watch the films. The Holy Grail of Star Wars is a version of the films that has all the benefits of modern visual remastering with none of the uncomfortable changes from the theatrical version of the films. Deep down, fans just want to experience the same magic they felt watching Star Wars in theaters the very first time.
No official remaster of Star Wars comes close to achieving perfection. Some fans have taken matters into their own hands. The “Despecialized Edition” of Star Wars is a fan-made project that attempts to recreate the theatrical experience for Star Wars fans. The project was put together by massive Star Wars fan Petr Harmáček (usually referred to as “Harmy”). Harmy’s Despecialized Edition is the unofficial gold standard of Star Wars, and it should be the blueprint for all future endeavors to remaster the films.
The time for a new remaster of both the prequels and the original trilogy is now. Fans have been crying out for a quality remaster, like the one Harmy provided, for years. Disney has caught a lot of hate from various parts of the fan base for the way they’ve handled the Extended Universe, the sequels, and the spin-offs. Of course, the only way to truly correct the franchise is to move forward with new, high-quality content. That said, an official remaster would be an easy way to get a huge boost of good will from Star Wars fans everywhere. At the very least, the Disney Plus version of A New Hope should show Han shooting first.
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