Turns out the 3D re-release of Star Wars Episode I-The Phantom Menace did well enough for LucasFilm to bump up the release of the next two installments. The Phantom Menace hit theaters earlier this year and hauled in close to $44M, adding to its overall total of $1.02B worldwide. Not bad for a film originally released in 1999 and has been on DVD/Blu-Ray in a thousand different ways. Now it's been revealed at Star Wars Celebration VI and confirmed via the LucasFilm Facebook page that Episodes II & III, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, will be re-released into theaters 3D on September 20, 2013 and October 11, 2013 respectively.
I'm kinda proud of myself for not paying to see The Phantom Menace again because honestly there isn't enough technology in the world that'll make that bird fly. The next two movies are a totally different beast, though, and they may be worth plunking down a few bucks to see what Lucas can do, especially since they were shot digitally unlike The Phantom Menace. I think this move makes it all the more certain that the original trilogy will be in theaters before too long. Why? Because Lucas doesn't just want some of our money. He wants it all. And because we're nerds we're going to keep giving it to him. Me included.
While I was in St. Maarten for my honeymoon a few weeks ago I had the chance to talk to Nick Manley, one of the great make-up and visual effects gurus ever and the guy who helped create Yoda. He and I are on the same page in thinking Lucas is re-releasing these movies in order to set us up for an all-new trilogy. I know he's debunked that idea in the past, but there's simply too much money for him not to. Hopefully we can get Nick on here to talk about his career and his thoughts on the future of the Star Wars franchise.
