George Lucas has once again defended the controversial changes he made to the original Star Wars trilogy, explaining that he didn't feel the movies were truly finished when they first arrived in theaters.
The original trilogy’s Special Editions were released in 1997, timed to mark the 20th anniversary of Star Wars. The legendary filmmaker reflected on those during a recent interview with CBS Sunday Morning, where he addressed his decision to return to the Galaxy Far, Far Away years after the original trilogy completed its theatrical run.
Shedding light on why he felt the Special Editions were necessary, Lucas said it came down to wanting to make tweaks that had haunted him since first releasing the movies years earlier.
"Most movies aren’t finished; they’re simply yanked out of your hands and put in the theaters," the writer and director explained (via SFFGazette.com). "So you’re always saying, 'Oh, I wish I could have just finished that one piece of thing.' But it’s not that way. You have a deadline; you’ve got to make the deadline."
Lucas then explained that, unlike most filmmakers, he was excited to have the opportunity to return to his original movies and make the changes he had wanted to make decades earlier. "But then I went back, after Star Wars, and redid all the movies, in terms of finishing them," he said. "So that they’re actually finished."
Understandably, those alterations proved divisive among longtime Star Wars fans. Lucas acknowledged that backlash in the interview but maintained that there was nothing inherently wrong with revisiting a movie and creating another version.
"A lot of people got upset about that, because they said, 'You’re not allowed to do that,'" Lucas said. "I said, 'Fans are doing that. They’re making alternate versions and all kinds of stuff.'"
The 1997 Special Editions of the original trilogy made several visual and audio changes to A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. Lucas continued modifying the movies for subsequent home video releases, but the most infamous example remains the confrontation between Han Solo and Greedo in the Mos Eisley Cantina.
In the original 1977 theatrical version of Star Wars, Han shoots Greedo before the bounty hunter can fire. The Special Edition altered the scene, so Greedo fires first, with Han returning fire. Lucas later made additional tweaks, including the addition of Greedo's now-infamous "Maclunkey!" line.
There were also some improvements, of course. Actor Declan Mulholland originally played a human Jabba the Hutt, but was ultimately cut from the 1977 theatrical release. For the 1997 Special Edition, Lucas revisited the footage and cleverly replaced Mulholland with a computer-generated Jabba, adding important context to the Hutt's role in Return of the Jedi.
Still, for those unhappy with Lucas' decisions, Lucasfilm has announced plans for the original 1977 theatrical cut of Star Wars to return to theaters on February 19, 2027. The newly restored version of the original theatrical release will screen for a limited time as part of the movie's 50th anniversary celebrations.
You can hear more from Lucas in the player below.