Everyone knows by now that the original Star Wars trilogy is hard to track down in its first-run theatrical form without delving into out-of-print media like VHS and 20-year-old DVD sets. But even Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams says his Force powers aren’t enough to get Star Wars parent company Disney to release A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi in their original, unaltered theatrical prints.
“Who wouldn’t want to see that?” Abrams said in response to being asked about the theatrical cuts of the original Star Wars trilogy by Now This. “But I’ve been told that, for reasons that I don’t quite understand, that that’s not necessarily possible. Which, you know, is too bad because that was the thing that I loved.”
Here’s video of the exchange:
J.J. Abrams is calling for the original versions of ‘Star Wars’ to be released pic.twitter.com/Hpcq1whPDX
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) December 12, 2019
Abrams’ second Star Wars film The Rise of Skywalker is due out in theaters December 20.