Earlier this year, Luscasfilm announced that it would be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Star Wars: A New Hope by re-releasing it on April 30th, 2027, and recently it was revealed that it would also have showings in IMAX.
This news broke as part of the IMAX Corporation Q3 2025 investor call. Interestingly, Lucasfilm has refused to specify which version of the film will be available to audiences on the big screen. That has left fans to speculate as to whether the original 1977 unaltered theatrical version may be coming to IMAX screens.
The Big Question
It seems Disney and Lucalsfilm are always celebrating anniversaries these days, and it’s easy for audiences to get burnt out. However, to the surprise of none, the Star Wars: A New Hope re-release announcement managed to generate plenty of buzz back in August.
A scene from Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), Lucasfilm
The later announcement that the classic original Star Wars would be showing in IMAX only increased public intrigue, setting the internet ablaze with fiery debates on which one of the film’s many variations would actually be honored on the highly anticipated anniversary.
Most theories online concentrate on two particular versions: the untouched 1977 original cut, and the infamous 1995 Special Edition, which was met with a surprising amount of backlash.
Others, however, speculate that Lucasfilm could be planning to release a new faithfully restored version of the film, based on the original cut. There’s more evidence behind this theory than one might initially think.
Star Wars: A New Hope for a New Era
Gareth Edwards, Director of Rogue One, told Little White Lies that there was a 4K restoration of the film which he had viewed nearly a decade ago, just shortly after it had been finished.
“On day one, we were in Lucasfilm in San Francisco with Industrial Light and Magic and John Knoll, our supervisor, he said that they’ve got a brand new 4K restoration print of A New Hope,” he said. “It had literally just been finished. He suggested we sit and watch it. Obviously, I was up for that.”
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, and Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), Lucasfilm
However, since then, there have been rumored leaks of what appears to be a completely separate restoration project which is in production. Images and videos began circulating the internet earlier this year which appear to be part of a secretive remaster of the original 1977 Star Wars: A New Hope.
Users claim that the original videos were leaked onto YouTube entirely by accident, and that Lucasfilm only intended for them to be kept in a private playlist on the platform as a backup for their in-house system, but an alleged error caused the clips to go public.
These rumors are unconfirmed, but it certainly is an interesting detail to keep in mind as we await the re-release.
Recent Screening of 1977 Theatrical Cut Adds Fuel to the Fire
In a surprise move, Lucasfilm, with the support of British Film Institute (BFI), publicly screened the original 1977 version of Star Wars (without the New Hope title) on June 12, 2025 at the BFI’s Film on Film festival in London.
The print used was a dye-transfer IB Technicolor version made for the film’s original UK release and preserved in the BFI National Archive.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Kathleen Kennedy attends the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 attends the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy made a live appearance to introduce the screening, characterizing the print as “incredible folklore” and emphasizing its rarity — noting that she wasn’t sure “there’s another one quite like it.”
The screening marks a major deviation from decades of controlled releases: since the 1997 Special Edition and later versions, the original theatrical cut has rarely been shown publicly. It was something Star Wars creator George Lucas highly opposed.
George Lucas via AMC+ YouTube
For fans and historians, the event offered a once-in-a-generation chance to see Star Wars as audiences did in 1977 — with Han Solo shooting first in the cantina and no CGI Jabba the Hutt.
The move also signals that Lucasfilm may be loosening its stance on historic prints, at least for curated archival events. Whether this means broader access to the original cut remains to be seen.
An Attempt to Revive the Magic
Following declining interest in the Star WarsIP, these IMAX screenings could be a way of mimicking the original wow factor of the 1977 premier, scaled up in order to match the modern landscape.
Lucasfilm likely believes that new audiences in the digital age have gotten used to special effects and CGI; that any new release runs the risk of being an underwhelming flop as customers gravitate towards novelty and unique experiences.
But everyone knows, if there’s anything classic Star Wars exceeds at, it’s novelty and excitement.
A scene from Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), Lucasfilm
When Star Wars first released in 1977, it was an immediate hit, and the franchise is credited with revolutionizing entertainment media as we know it. Toy isles were flooded with official memorabilia for decades as the brand enriched companies like Kenner, who famously was unable to keep up with the immense demand during Christmas 1977.
With its unique visual style and iconic characters, Star Wars: A New Hope won six Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, 13 Saturn Awards, and more.
No matter what has—or will—happen to the franchise, it’s unlikely that the bright yellow flash of the iconic Star Wars logo, accompanied by the cheerful, exuberant boom of trumpets will ever go out of style.
What are your thoughts on Star Wars: A New Hope re-release in IMAX? Are you planning to attend the Star Wars 50th anniversary celebration? Let us know in the comments section below!
Just before the special editions were released a theater near me was doing a one time showing of the un-butchered version of Star Wars (not sure if it was the “A New Hope” cut or not).
I took my dad to see it and after we talked about how different the experience was then vs. when he took me to see the movie in 1977 at a drive-in in the middle of BFE Missouri. We could trace a line through my life starting from that day to this showing and see the measurable impact. It was after that movie I started my chase for wonder and technology which drove me through school and my various careers.
I’d buy a 4k version of the 1977 OG film and watch it with my family as a treasure, knowing how much pressure there would be to lock it down again (think the Disney Vault). My dad is gone now, but maybe his force ghost will make an appearance and watch it with us.
It would be an interesting twist if the nostalgia fetish that ruined Star Wars led to the original Star Wars becoming available to everyone. But from Lucasfilm’s perspective, fueled by their nostalgia fetish, it would make sense.
Perhaps it is also Kennedy’s attempt to salvage her reputation before she leaves.
*Sigh….. this gets soooooo tiring…. in STAR WARS, Han Solo “doesn’t shoot first”! Han Solo shoots….PERIOD. Get it right for crying out loud. And again… you don’t have to pine for a copy of the original (only) version of STAR WARS…. there is NO colon or wording after that…. it is called STAR WARS.
Just google “4k77” and follow the yellow brick road and at the end you find a FREE downloadable file, COMPLETELY RESTORED IN 4K HDR, complete with remastered sound. All done by real fans. Far better than ILM could have ever pulled off.
It exists. It is real and I watch it once a year now off a USB stick plugged directly into my 4k theater projector. And you can too😏