Star Wars is one of those properties that feels utterly timeless, an eternal fixture in pop culture. In truth, though, the franchise has only been around for a few decades. In 2027, the Star Wars saga achieves its biggest milestone yet: its first film, A New Hope (formerly known as just Star Wars), will ring in its 50th anniversary. Lucasfilm is rightly planning a major celebration for film and franchise alike, and it’ll all begin with A New Hope’s return to the big screens.
“Part of Lucasfilm’s yearlong 50th anniversary celebration, a newly restored version of the classic Star Wars (1977) theatrical release — later renamed Star Wars: A New Hope — will play in theaters for a limited time,” Lucasfilm shared in a statement. The restoration will play nationwide, albeit for a limited engagement, beginning on February 19, 2027.
The specifics of the new restoration remain under wraps, but if recent speculation and leaks are accurate, A New Hope could be getting the same 4K upscale, designed for IMAX screens, that films like Jaws and Black Swan recently got. Other rumors claim that Lucasfilm is restoring the original cut of the film, which may be free of the changes George Lucas added to A New Hope for the 1997 special edition. Said re-release contained a previously deleted scene between Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Jabba the Hutt, rendered in less-than-perfect CGI, and a controversial stand-off between Han and the bounty hunter Greedo.
Will Han shoot his adversary first in the 50th Anniversary edition of A New Hope, as he did in the original cut? Will Jabba get a facelift, or will he appear at all? So many versions of the film are floating in the aether, so the possibilities are endless — but there’s no better time to deliver a true restoration of the original Star Wars, one that allows new fans to see the film as it was seen in 1977.
