The entire Star Wars saga will be re-released in 3D, Lucasfilm confirmed today to Variety.com.
All six films will get a theatrical re-release in stereoscopic 3D starting with Episode I: The Phantom Menace, which returns to cinemas in 2012.
Following that, each of the films will be released in order at the same time each consecutive year, depending on how well the first re-release does.
“I am such a Star Wars freak that any news of any revisitations is cause for apoplectic excitement,” says 3 News resident Star Wars aficionado Kate Rodger.
“But that excitement is offset by a certain nervousness that comes with contemplating the messing-with of a piece of cinematic history.”
The 3D versions have been rumoured for years, although filmmaker George Lucas was reportedly waiting until there were enough 3D screens available to make the release a sizable enough event.
Lucas, who has said Avatar convinced him Star Wars should have a 3D makeover, is personally overseeing the conversion process to make sure each film is mastered as perfectly as possible.
"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," says Bruce Snyder of distributor 20th Century Fox.
With the growing market of 3D televisions, 3D DVD versions of the Star Wars films could well be available to coincide with the theatrical run.
3 News