For at least two generations, there were only three Star Wars movies. And, for exactly 20 years, from 1977 to 1997, there wasn’t any debate about whether or not Han Solo shot first, or if Jabba the Hutt looked fake as a CGI creature. And that’s because in 1997, the 20th anniversary theatrical rerelease of the Star Wars trilogy changed everything, creating new canonical versions of the films, which controversially replaced and altered various elements. making the true “original” versions of the films somewhat elusive. But, 30 years after the special editions, and 50 years after the release of the original Star Wars, everything is going back to how it was in 1977. At least, for a very limited time.
Although it was previously announced that the 1977 Star Wars would return to movie theaters in 2027, StarWars.comhas now confirmed that this release will be a restored version of the 1977 theatrical version, which, in plain language, means this will be a non-special edition cut of the film. We’ve now lived with the special editions of Star Wars for longer than the original cuts were out, so if you’ve forgotten what that means, here’s a quick, basic rundown.
How the 1977 Star Wars Was Different From the “Special Edition”
There are endless lists of various changes that George Lucas and Lucasfilm have made to the original 1977 Star Wars since its release. The first change was in 1981, when, retroactively, for a theatrical rerelease, Star Wars was given the subtitle of “Episode IV: A New Hope.” Previously, the opening text crawl of the film did not contain this text at all, and simply started with the words “It is a period of civil war.” (Fun fact: the text crawl for Star Wars is directly lifted from the 1940 science fiction serial Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe.)
But, after 1981, and after a few VHS releases, the original Star Wars (and The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi) hit theaters in 1997, with upgraded special effects, new scenes, and a few big changes. For the original film, this meant the infamous addition to an all-CGI Jabba the Hutt, which recreated a deleted scene from the 1977 movie in which Jabba was played by a human actor. (Prior to this, Jabba had not appeared until 1983’s Return of the Jedi.) In addition to various other CGI creatures and newer spaceship effects, this release also infamously changed the context of Han Solo’s (Harrison Ford) showdown with Greedo in the Mos Eisley Cantina, in which Han shoots Greedo under the table. In all the releases from 1997 onward (including a modified 2004 Blu-ray release and a 2019 Disney+ version), Greedo fires off a blaster shot as well, making it seem, retroactively, that Han fired in self-defense.
So, when the 1977 version returns to the big screen in 2027, this will be the first time, outside of pirated versions or certain limited-edition DVDs, that fans will be able to see the raw, grittier version of Star Wars that captured the imagination of the world.
Theatrical Star Wars Re-Release Date
According to StarWars.com, the original film will return to theaters on February 19, 2027. They’re calling this a “once-in-a-generation event,” and the release window will be “for a limited time, in theaters everywhere.”
