George Lucas Hints at 3-D 'Star Wars'...Again

The impact of Avatar may mean something very significant in the future, but it's already reshaping the past. George Lucas says the film may finally open the door to the Star Wars films coming to life in 3-D. "I liked it," he told Access Hollywood of Avatar. "I make movies like that so I can appreciate what [James Cameron] went through to do it." Lucas added, "I'm happy it's so successful, and worked very well in 3-D." "Haven't been a big fan of 3-D," the bearded one admitted, "but that movie definitely improves 3-D." The trouble with retrofitting Star Wars or 2001 or the original Jaws with 3-D is that they weren't ever designed to be seen that way. It's a more active process for the audience and that requires a 3-D type of direction, as well, where the images aren't to be viewed as a flat visual representation of a story. You can add 3-D, sure, but that's really all you're doing. I always liken it to making an mp3 of a song you had on vinyl for 30 years: Yes, it will be a "digital" file now, but it's still just a digital version of an analog recording. It won't sound any better (and in fact, because of the file compression of mp3s, it'll probably sound worse to a purist). It might be great to have for posterity but you haven't improved the version you already had. They've made great strides in film restoration and everything and Lucas has been diligent about remasters of Star Wars, although the last time I saw Empire, I believe it was, there were still a few things about it visually that the naked eye could spot that it shouldn't. But he's in a better situation than a lot of his counterparts when it comes to going back and putting 3-D into his film, something he's talked about in years past. And this time, he might just do it.

“We’ve been looking for years and years and years of trying to take Star Wars and put it in 3-D, but technology hasn’t been there. We’ve been struggling with it, but I think this will be a new impetus to make that happen.”

Comments

[Adam]

Maybe the ultimate endgame is to replace all the original actors and scenes with modern CG and just use the original audio track as a temp track to remake the movies altogether.

[Carv]

The ultimate endgame, of course, is the same game Lucas has BEEN playing for years: to get Star Wars fans like me to buy those same movies over and over again in different formats. (If he's not careful, he's going to miss the 2-D Blu Ray window.) Sad thing is, I would, in fact, go see the original trilogy again in 3-D IMAX, and pay full price for the privilege. Millions of us would, especially if the 3-D used the same principle Cameron used in Avatar: to create a window with depth, rather than StabbyVision (TM), wherein a Star Destroyer reaches out to poke you in the eye.