With fan anticipation for Star Wars: Episode VII at lofty heights, as audiences await casting news, story information and a final title, Disney may be planning on releasing the remaining Star Wars prequels, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, in 3D sometime next year. When the mouse house acquired Lucasfilm, they shelved the release of Episodes II and III due to the underwhelming box office for the 3D release of The Phantom Menace. Now it looks like they may be having a change of heart.
Before you start complaining, it’s important that you take this news with a grain of salt, as Disney has not yet confirmed any details or dates with this re-release. The rumour comes from an email sent to Star Wars fan website Jedi News. The mailer, Patrick K., found Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith on a 2014 calendar for Pathé, a theatre chain in the Netherlands. The release date on the website is Thursday, December 31 (films in the Netherlands are typically released on Thursday). Again though, none of this has been confirmed.
To add to the rumour, some retailers will slot a release date at the end of the year if there is word that a product will come out within that season or year but the actual release date is not yet confirmed. This could also mean that the prequels may be re-released in the summer or fall.
Although none of this has been made official, a 2014 release for Episodes II and III may indicate a big screen return for the original trilogy too, perhaps in 2015 slots (hey, one can dream). When Lucasfilm brought A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi to theatres in consecutive months in winter 1997, the films enjoyed a total of six weekends atop the North American box office and excited moviegoers young and old for the upcoming prequels. I’d imagine that there is probably an even bigger audience now who wants to relive the original trilogy (even the updated special edition version) on an IMAX screen, so it could be a smart move to release them once again.
For ardent Star Wars fans, this rumour could be a new hope, so to speak.
