Star Wars in 3-D!

In a big announcement that has been rumored for years, George Lucas intends to release all six Star Wars films in 3-D starting in 2012. How soon will we have to wait until 3-D Empire Strikes Back? Find out after the jump!


Lucas, who has toyed with the idea of converting the original trilogy into 3-D for years (along with all the other film tampering that sends fans of the original trilogy into a tizzy), announced today that The Phantom Menace will be the first film out in 2012, and the remaining films will be released annually until 2017 (the 40th anniversary of the franchise), when Return of the Jedi hits screens. The announcement didn’t mention how extensive the effects would be or whether the 3-D films would contain alternate or re-shot footage, but this is George Lucas — that’s about as constant with him as wearing flannel shirts.

This, of course, is a pretty big gamble. Rumors have said that studios are already worried that audiences are getting burned out on the 3-D film gimmick, so predicting six years worth of 3-D releases — ones which undoubtedly would cost a great deal of money to convert — may not be the best decision. Considering that 2008’s animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the 1997 Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi Special Editions underperformed at the box office, it might be expecting too much for anyone other than diehard fans (although there are a lot of them) to go see films they’ve already seen yet again. On top of that, who knows what shape the film industry or 3-D technology will be in by 2017?

Then again, the prospect of seeing all those space battles in 3-D certainly gets my mind going. And does this open the door for a 3-D Spaceballs? What do you think? Let us know below!