From Jar Jar Binks to Obi Wan Kenobi, every single Star Wars movie moment you’ve grown to love or hate will be getting redone in a meticulous 3D process that George Lucas assures will be better than most 2D-to-3D conversion.
George Lucas has just given the official green light to the project which will undoubtedly make some Star Wars fans super stoked and others disappointed.
Episode I: The Phantom Menace is going to be the first. It’ll be re-released in theaters in 3D in 2012. All five others will get similar treatments, assumedly in chronological order.
Hardcore Star Wars elitists may see the move as ruining the legacy of the movie franchise. But no one can overlook the monetary success this move will no doubt bring to Lucas’s film studio. 3D revenues at the box office are bigger than ever.
“The cutting edge conversion will take that immersion to the next thrilling level,” reads a statement on the official Star Wars website.
Of course, to date we have not yet seen a movie that was shot in 2D and then converted into today’s 3D standard, that was actually a worthwhile 3D experience.
That doesn’t mean it can’t be done, though. James Cameron, whose Avatar lit a fire on the 3D market like no one could have imagined, is working on converting his previous record-setting box office smash Titanic into a 3D movie. That will be released next year. Cameron said the conversion process can yield great results, but it requires meticulous care.
A spokesperson for Lucasfilm said something similar about the Star Wars remakes:
“Getting good results on a stereo conversion is a matter of taking the time and getting it right. For Star Wars we will take our time, applying everything we know both aesthetically and technically to bring audiences a fantastic new Star Wars experience.”
