J.J. Abrams reveals he asked Disney about releasing the theatrical cuts of the original Star Wars trilogy, but was told that can't happen. As many people know now, George Lucas first introduced the special editions of the trilogy in 1997 to commemorate A New Hope's 20th anniversary. They featured numerous changes to the films, some of which proved to be very controversial among viewers. Much to the chagrin of fans, Lucas kept making alterations with each subsequent release of the original trilogy, such as the 2004 DVDs and the 2011 Blu-rays. Even the Disney+ version has a new wrinkle: Greedo's infamous final word, "Maclunkey."
There are ways people can get their hands on the unaltered Star Wars trilogy (see: the Despecialized Editions), but those versions have not been officially available since a 2006 DVD release that included the theatrical cuts on a bonus disc. The only problem there was that they were low-quality, non-anamorphic transfers unequipped for widescreen televisions. Over the past handful of years, there have been countless rumors about the theatrical versions receiving a Blu-ray box set, but that hasn't come into fruition. Still, it remains something many would like to see, including Abrams.
In an interview with Now This News to promote Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Abrams was asked if he'd be interested in seeing the unaltered Star Wars trilogy get a commercial release. The director definitely would, and he even inquired Disney about it:
"And I have asked about this... But I've been told that, for reasons that I quite don't understand, that that's not necessarily possible. Which is, you know, too bad because that was the thing that I loved."
The documentary The People vs. George Lucas details Lucasfilm's official response to a fan request for an official theatrical cut release, with the studio claiming the original negatives of the movies were permanently altered for the special editions and any existing unaltered prints were in poor condition. That could be the reasoning Abrams doesn't fully understand (since the Despecialized Editions are out there), but there's more to this. In 2017, Kathleen Kennedy went on record to say she "wouldn't touch those" in reference to the original trilogy, out of reverence to Lucas. For better or worse, the special editions are how Lucas wishes to present the first three movies (this is not a Snyder Cut situation), and Disney is adhering to that desire. There's surely a great deal of money to make from an unaltered Star Wars box set, but the company's respecting what the artist wants - which in a way is admirable.
There remains the slim possibility this could change in the future, as Kennedy reportedly said there are no contractual agreements in place to block a Star Wars theatrical cut release. But it would appear such a box set is not in the cards. What's most frustrating about this is the fact other films, like Blade Runner and The Lord of the Rings, have multiple versions available, so people don't really understand why Star Wars can't be the same way and give fans the option. If Abrams' appeals to Disney can't change any minds, it's worth wondering if there's anything that ever could.
Source: Now This News
