STAR WARS Movies To Get 3-D Treatment!

After more than five years of speculation, Lucasfilm has revealed that work is under way on converting the 'Star Wars' saga to 3-D! All six movies will get theatrical re-release in stereoscopic starting with 'Episode I: The Phantom Menace' which returns to cinemas in 2012. Is this a good idea though? Given the track record of converting movies to 3-D, I'm hoping they improve this process before Lucas invests loads of money on this project.


Exact release date has not been announced, but a Lucasfilm spokesperson said the movie will open wide and "as close to day and date (worldwide) as possible." 

The prospect of six 'Star Wars' pics released in 3-D should inject new interest in young audiences (and faithful fans) who are used to 3-D and only know 'Star Wars' from DVD and the 'Clone Wars' animated series.

Fox domestic distribution president Bruce Snyder said the series is "perfectly suited" for 3-D and adds:

"I expect this to be as much fun for people that have not experienced 'Star Wars' as it was for people who were there in 1977 staring at the screen with mouth agape." 


It is not yet known how far apart the re-releases will be, as that will depend entirely on the pace of the conversion effort.

John Knoll, visual effects supervisor for Lucasfilm's Industrial Light and Magic, is overseeing the conversion, which is being done by outside vendors with close oversight by ILM.

Knoll said Lucasfilm is committed to ensuring that the 3-D conversion delivers results as good as a movie shot and authored in 3-D. Knoll said that it'll be used to make the experience more immersive and he'll avoid some of the more jarring, exaggerated uses of 3-D that have marked previous stereoscopic pics. Without trying to sound too negative, I guess the proof will be in the pudding.

Speaking to Variety, Knoll adds:

"Having seen a lot of stereo material, I have very strong opinions about what I like and don't like about stereo,

"I'm going to be applying my aesthetic. It's not going to look like (conversions) we've seen in the past." 


Knoll stresses that there are no plans to add (or fix) visual effects on the movies.

For those looking to get a slice of the popular sci-fi franchise in the comfort of their own home (in 3-D), unfortunately there has been no mention of a DVD release. But that's not to say it may never happen.