There’s been talk about it for years, stoked by George Lucas saying he’s interested in doing it and has been impressed by tests. However while every so often rumours of a 3D release of Star Wars emerge, nothing defnitely ever seems to happed.
However now some seemingly firmer news has emerged, with Variety reporting that Lucasfilm has officially disclosed that after five years of teasing, work is now underway on the 3D conversion, with the plan being to give all six movies a theatrical re-release, starting with The Phantom Menace, which will hit screens in 2012. No exact release date has been set yet, and there’s no news on how exactly widely spaced the releases will be, although it’s being suggested there’ll be one Star Wars film a year, presuming they’re financially successful enough to making continuing the conversions worthwhile.
Lucas will oversee the project, with promises being made that each conversion will take a full year and that there’ll be no compromise on quality (so no dodgy Clash of the Titans type job). Undoubtedly many will see this as yet another example of trying to wring money out of fans, but equally those same fans will be lining up when the movies reach 3D-equipped cinemas.