List of changes in Star Wars re-releases

"There will only be one. And it won't be what I would call the 'rough cut,' it'll be the 'final cut.' The other one will be some sort of interesting artifact that people will look at and say, 'There was an earlier draft of this.' The same thing happens with plays and earlier drafts of books. In essence, films never get finished, they get abandoned. At some point, you're dragged off the picture kicking and screaming while somebody says, 'Okay, it's done.' That isn't really the way it should work. Occasionally, [you can] go back and get your cut of the video out there, which I did on both American Graffiti and THX-1138; that's the place where it will live forever. So what ends up being important in my mind is what the DVD version is going to look like, because that's what everybody is going to remember. The other versions will disappear. Even the 35 million tapes of Star Wars out there won't last more than 30 or 40 years. A hundred years from now, the only version of the movie that anyone will remember will be the DVD version [of the Special Edition], and you'll be able to project it on a 20' by 40' screen with perfect quality. I think it's the director's prerogative, not the studio's to go back and reinvent a movie."

- George Lucas on the Special Editions

The following are partial lists of changes in Star Wars re-releases. The commercial success of Star Wars has given George Lucas the opportunity to tinker with his original trilogy, now called Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. In a September 2004 MSNBC article, Lucas points out that the original films were "25 or 30 percent" of what he intended. Along with obvious changes to various scenes, the re-releases also improved the visual and audio quality of the films.

Many changes were motivated by the vast improvements in CGI technology and other production techniques that occurred in the two decades after the original trilogy was produced. Other changes improved the cohesiveness among the films, and eliminated continuity errors between the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy. However, opponents claim that these changes detract from the character arc of the films and tend to be more distracting than expedient.

Changes to Star Wars films after the theatrical release aren't always limited to the original trilogy. In the release of The Phantom Menace DVD, two deleted portions were either partially or completely restored.

According to Lucasfilm Ltd., the 2004 Special Edition is the canonical version of the original trilogy, even though the original, unaltered theatrical editions were released September 12, 2006. The official trailer to this DVD can be downloaded here.

A 3-D re-release of the saga is planned for 2007.

VHS/Betamax/CED Editions
Pan and Scan versions of the original theatrical releases of the original three films.

In the UK and throughout Europe widescreen VHS versions of the original three films were released in 1991. An advertisement before the films started explained how widescreen showed more of the picture. They were re-released in 1994 with different artwork and released a third time as THX versions in 1995.

All of the original releases of A New Hope on VHS, Betamax, and RCA's CED did not contain the line uttered by C-3PO "The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave." This line was not in the original Dolby Stereo mix, which was the soundtrack used on all early video releases. In 1985 Ben Burtt re-mixed the soundtrack and the line was heard for the first time on home video.

Due to technical and cost limitations, the CED editions of A New Hope are presented time-compressed (sped up by 3%) from its original 121-minute length to 118 minutes to fit one double-sided two-hour disc.

The VHS reissue in 1995, which was the last available release of the Pre-Special Edition trilogy prior to the 2006 DVD release, utilized THX digital remastering to enhance the picture and sound quality on all three films.

Laserdisc editions
Due to technical limitations, most pan and scan versions of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back are presented time-compressed (sped up by 3%) from their respective 121- and 125-minute lengths to fit one double-sided 2-hour disc. Letterbox versions of the original theatrical releases of the original three films have also been released.

The initial 1989 North American widescreen release of "A New Hope" suffered from a shrinking aspect ratio. The master that was used was the Japanese subtitled Laserdisc, in which the image appeared higher in the screen to allow for subtitles. For the North American release, it was shifted down, and a black bar was put up to cover the unused parts. However, as the film progresses, the image creeps up on the screen moving underneath the top bar, causing the image to become increasingly wider. By the time the film reaches the Battle of Yavin scenes, the image has widened from 2.35:1 to 2.55:1. This problem was fixed in the 1992 re-issue of the disc. The original shrinking LD has the CBS/Fox logo on it, but the fixed edition has the newer "Fox Video" logo on the jacket. The 3PO line about the tractor beam can be heard on this laserdisc.

In 1993, the "Star Wars Trilogy: The Definitive Collection" box set was released. This version featured the original trilogy on 9 CAV discs, widescreen transfers, THX remastering, audio commentary tracks, assorted bonus features, a copy of the hardcover book "George Lucas - The Creative Impulse", and for "Star Wars IV: A New Hope", a new surround sound audio mix created from elements of the 70mm 6 track magnetic, 35mm Dolby Stereo optical and 35mm optical mono mixes. 

Initial versions of this box set were missing approximately 10 seconds from "The Empire Strikes Back". Fox Video offered a replacement disc, and this mistake was corrected in later pressings. 

The final Laserdisc edition of the original trilogy was released in 1995, sourced from the 1993 masters. 

1997 Special Editions (Theatrical, Laserdisc and VHS)
In 1997, Episodes IV, V, and VI were re-mastered and theatrically re-released as the "Special Editions". For the re-release, in addition to extensive clean-up and restoration work, Lucas also made a number of changes to the films in order to "finish the film the way it was meant to be" (as Lucas said in a September 2004 interview with the Associated Press).

Many of Lucas' changes for the Special Editions were cosmetic, generally adding special effects which weren't originally possible. Other changes, however, are considered to have affected plot or character development. These changes, such as the change referred to by fans as "Han shot first," have proven to be controversial. The "Han shot first" situation can be generally described as this: in the original release of Episode IV, the character Han Solo shoots and kills a bounty hunter named Greedo, after Greedo threatens to kill him in order to collect a bounty which had been placed on Solo's head by Jabba the Hutt. In the Special Edition of the film, however, Greedo shoots first at close range. Only after he misses does Solo return fire. George Lucas has been quoted in Entertainment Weekly as saying that this version of the scene was meant to be the original, as in the original storyboards (Greedo fires first at Han Solo).
 * In 2000, this version had box art redesigned to match the Box Art of Episodes I–III except the front of the box was white for Episodes IV and VI while Episode V retained the Black used for the Prequel box art. Also the Star Wars logos on Episodes IV–VI used the logo design as featured for Episodes I–III. This was done to create a more uniformed look for all 6 movies.

2004 DVD release
In 2004, in addition to an extensive and comprehensive hi-definition digital cleanup and restoration job by Lowry Digital, the original trilogy films were changed once again for their release on DVD. In these new versions of the films, a few changes which had been made for the 1997 Special Editions were removed. Even more changes were made to the films, however. With this release, Lucasfilm created a new high-definition master of the films, which will be used in future releases as well.

One of the most notable of these new changes includes new footage shot during the filming of Revenge of the Sith of Ian McDiarmid portraying Palpatine, which has been inserted into The Empire Strikes Back, which replaces the original performance (voiced by actor Clive Revill and portrayed by an actor wearing a specially made mask) recorded for the film. Another notable and quite controversial change was to a scene at the end of Episode VI, when the spirits of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Anakin Skywalker look upon the Rebels' celebration. The original actor who played Anakin in this scene (Sebastian Shaw) was replaced by Hayden Christensen, the actor who played Anakin in Episodes II and III.

In 2005, the 2004 Special Editions were again released on DVD; however, this time they were repackaged and sold as a three-disc set that did not include the bonus materials disc. This was done to provide a more affordable trilogy set.

2006 DVD release
On September 12, 2006, the original trilogy was re-released on DVD for a limited time (until December 31, 2006). Each film (Episodes IV, V, and VI) is packaged as a two-disc set with the first disc presenting the 2004 Special Edition with remastered THX sound and video and the second disc containing the "original, unaltered theatrical release" of each film as "bonus material".

These original editions are presented as they were first shown theatrically. For example, Star Wars has the 1977 opening scroll (before "Episode IV: A New Hope" was added and other adjustments made for the April 10, 1981 re-issue). Though the original features are presented in Dolby 2.0 Surround audio, the video transfer is derived not from original masters, but from the 1993 Laserdisc transfer (aside from the original Episode IV opening scroll taken from a best available original 1977 print), meaning that the film's 2.35:1 Panavision format is letterboxed into a non-anamorphic 4:3 video frame, even for widescreen television playback. 

Instead of using the original theatrical sound mixes, the "bonus" DVD presentations use the 1993 laserdisc remixes. However, the Spanish and French audio tracks on the Star Wars DVD appear to be based on the original theatrical mono sound mix for the film, not the Definitive Collection version. Certain sound effects from the 1993 mix are missing (such as all of the "exploding glass" sounds when Luke and Han blast the various cameras and such in the Death Star's detention center), and certain sounds have been added (such as metallic clicks when R2-D2 and Chewbacca press buttons on the Millennium Falcon's holographic chessboard). Luke Skywalker also says "Blast it, Wedge, where are you?" during the final battle on the alternate language tracks, something he only said in the theatrical mono mix. In all other versions of the film, he says, "Blast it, Biggs, where are you?"

The French and Spanish audio tracks for The Empire Strikes Back 2006 DVD also feature a different sound mix than the 1993 Definitive Collection mix. This alternate mix features additional sounds that were not heard on the 35mm and subsequent home video versions, but which were later reincorporated into the 1997 and 2004 mixes. Such sounds include additional R2-D2 beeps when Yoda rummages through Luke's supplies, which are missing from prior mixes, and additional TIE fighter engine sounds in the establishing shot of Darth Vader's Star Destroyer (after Luke Skywalker beheads the illusory Vader on Dagobah), which are missing from the prior sound mixes.

2007 definitive editions (Blu-ray)
Lucas has hinted in the past, and it is most likely assumed, that he will release his definitive (often called "archival") editions of all six of his Star Wars films on a next-generation home-video format in 2007. This release would coincide with, and celebrate, the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars saga. It has been speculated that he will take this opportunity to make any final adjustments, changes, additions, and/or subtractions to his films for this final release. An altered clip from The Phantom Menace included in a featurette on the DVD release of Revenge of the Sith (in which a computer generated Yoda replaces the original puppet) appears to be a sign that the "archival" editions are indeed in the works; however, this is uncertain, as the animation team for Yoda went back and practiced animating him in all his scenes from The Phantom Menace in order to really understand Yoda and become skilled in creating his facial expressions, amongst other things. This was done in preparation for Yoda's appearance in Revenge of the Sith, as the greatest concern of the animation team during production of Attack of the Clones was the duel scene between Yoda and Count Dooku. Regardless, the new animations of the CGI Yoda would most likely be used in the Definitive Edition of The Phantom Menace.

It is said that this edition will be released in a "Grand Saga" box set, and the home video format will most likely be Blu-ray, as 20th Century Fox, as well as Lucas himself, have said they prefer this format. Lucasfilm Vice President of Marketing Jim Ward confirmed that in this final release, Lucasfilm is likely to return to John Lowry to do even more work on the films (possibly digital contemporization of the original trilogy). He says, "As the technology evolves and we get into a high-definition platform that is easily consumable by our customers, the situation is much better, but there will always be work to be done."

Producer Rick McCallum, as well as Ward, have also explained that they have been holding back a large amount of bonus material for this release, including deleted scenes, as well as numerous previous Star Wars "making-ofs," spin-offs, television specials, Documentaries etc.

2007 3-D edition
At a ShoWest convention in 2005, George Lucas demonstrated new technology and stated that he is planning to release all six films in a new 3-D film format, beginning with A New Hope in 2007.

Bootleg versions, fan edits, etc.
In addition to official and authorized versions, there is a black market for other versions. These include versions of the film that are no longer available, or versions of the original films in different formats (such as compressed with DivX). "Theatre Rips" are the only source for comparing an actual original theater release of films to changes in DVD releases (aside from personal memory). The majority of these versions are sourced from the "original" versions from the pre-1997 VHS/Laserdisc releases.

Bootleg versions also include fan modified/edited versions. One of this type to attain notoriety was a version of Episode I (known as The Phantom Edit), with certain elements removed, such as scenes deemed unnecessary of Jar Jar Binks. Bootleg versions of the little-known 1970s TV special The Star Wars Holiday Special remain the only source for consumers seeking it, ranging in quality from excellent to poor.

Pre-Special Edition changes
Although not as obvious as the 1997 Special Edition re-release of the trilogy, there were still some alterations made between versions, for VHS, TV and other subsequent media.

A New Hope

 * The line "Episode IV: A NEW HOPE" was added to the opening crawl from 1981 forward. The crawl was also reformatted for the music to stay in synchronization. In addition to the reformatting, the new opening crawl also capitalized the word "rebel" in "rebel spies", which was not capitalized in the original 1977 crawl.
 * The film was originally released with 35mm Dolby Stereo and 70mm 6-track audio. Since these were both made from the same four track master, there are very little differences between them. However, a mono mix was produced later for exhibition in cinemas with no Dolby Stereo support, which contains some changes from the stereo version. The mono mix was also used for a 1980's UK ITV broadcast. Most video releases until the Special Edition were based on the stereo mix.
 * As Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan, and the droids approach the Cantina in the mono sound version, a Cantina musical cue can be heard.
 * Alternate takes of C-3PO's dialogue are used in the mono sound version.
 * The line "Close the blast doors!" was added to the mono release.
 * C-3PO's tractor beam line was added to the mono version. (This line was also included in the 1997 and 2004 Special Editions as well as the 1985 sound mix versions.)
 * The line "Blast it, Biggs, where are you?" from the original stereo sound version was changed to "Blast it, Wedge, where are you?" for the mono sound releases.
 * Beru Lars is dubbed by a different actress in the mono sound version.
 * A shot of Chewbacca growling at a mouse droid on the Death Star was removed from some versions after the opening release.
 * For the 1985 VHS release, Ben Burtt supervised the creation of a new, digitally remastered audio track most noticeably featuring C-3PO's tractor beam dialogue.
 * Another audio track was created for the 1993 Definitive Collection laserdisc release. This audio track was rumored to have been based on the theatrical 70mm sound mix and features some noise reduction as well as C-3PO's tractor beam dialogue taken back out.
 * There were also some minor changes made to a few 1980's pan and scanned TV broadcasts such as squeezing in the second Tusken Raider while looking through Luke's macrobinoculars.

The Empire Strikes Back
The 70mm version of the film was substantially different from the 35mm version that was more widely seen.
 * After the Probot lands and moves left, there is an optical wipe to the overhead shot of Luke on his Tauntaun.
 * After Luke wanders through the snow and falls face down, there is an optical wipe to Han instead of a straight cut.
 * The bacta tank scene starts on a close-up of Two-One-Bee and pans right to a closeup of Luke in the tank. It then cuts to FX-7 extending its arm to the tank. There is no cut to Leia, Han and Threepio observing.
 * In the snow battle scene, when Luke drops into the snow after throwing a charge into the Imperial walker, the AT-ST in the background has no atmospheric depth. It looks too close and small.
 * In the Emperor scene, the hologram of the Emperor is already present in the first shot - it does not "tune in" gradually.
 * The Imperial fleet establishing shot after the cave scene has a different TIE fighter sound effect.
 * When Luke falls from Cloud City into the Millennium Falcon, the Falcon's radar dish is not added to the shot.
 * The telepathy between Luke and Vader during the "Hyperspace" cue has straight cuts instead of quick dissolves.
 * On Hoth, right after C-3PO tells R2 to "Switch off," R2 gives out a little 'blurp.'
 * When Luke finally collapses in the snow, he lets out a grunt as he lands on his face.
 * Han says "until I can get the shelter up" instead of "until I can get the shelter built."
 * Luke says an additional "Ben... Dagobah..." just before Han says "and I thought they smelled bad on the outside."
 * When C-3PO tells Luke "It's so good to see you fully functional again," Luke replies "Thanks, Threepio."
 * The line "Headquarters personnel report to Command Center" is repeated three times instead of two.
 * The line "The first transport is away!" is said in a different voice altogether.
 * When R2 is being loaded into Luke's X-Wing, C-3PO says the word "and" before saying "do take good care of yourself."
 * Han's line "Transport, this is Solo. Better take off, I can't get to you. I'll get her out on the Falcon" is followed by, "Come on!"
 * In the asteroid field, after C-3PO says "Oh, this is suicide." He says, "There's no where to go."
 * Luke says "You're lucky to get out of there" instead of "You're lucky you don't taste very good."
 * Yoda makes a frightened "Ehhhhh!" sound just before Luke says "Like we're being watched" and points his blaster at him.
 * Yoda says the word "Run!" before "Yes. A Jedi's strength flows from the force." The following lines "But beware the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side of the force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight" are also much louder and clearer.
 * In Cloud City, after C-3PO says "That sounds like an R2 unit in there. I wonder if it..." he says "Hello?" only once instead of twice.
 * Before C-3PO gets shot, a different voice says "Who are you?"
 * While C-3PO is on Chewbacca's back when they enter the carbon freezing chamber, the line "Now remember, Chewbacca, you have a responsibility to me, so don't do anything foolish" is louder and heard more clearly.
 * During the duel, when Luke knocks Vader off of the platform, Vader lets out an "ooooh!" instead of an "aaargh!"
 * Lando's line at the end, "Luke, we're ready for takeoff." is a different take.
 * In the final scene, there is no tracked music from "Yoda and the Force".
 * When Lando's head comes out of the hatch to get Luke it's actually the head of a doll.

1997 Star Wars Trilogy Special Editions
Special coverage on CNN in 1997 notes that Lucas spent $10 million to rework his original 1977 film, which was roughly what it cost to film it originally. $3 million of that was spent on the audio track for the special edition. Lucas also spent $2.5 million each on Episodes V and VI.

The following is a partial list of changes:

A New Hope

 * A revised Jawa sandcrawler. The sunset progression has been enhanced, having the sky darkened, and at the end, adding stars to the newly darkened sky. The scene where R2-D2 is captured has been tinted red to resemble a sunset.
 * A new digital matte painting of the sandcrawler and extended sky were added when the Jawas are setting up shop in front of the Lars farm. Artificial zooming in is also present. More vaporators have been added but they disappear in subsequent shots.
 * Additional dewbacks are visible as the stormtroopers look for the missing robots. A Sentinel-class landing craft can be seen taking off, and new (costumed) stormtroopers have been added to the scene.
 * More CG dewbacks have been added in front of the Cantina, and a stormtrooper is shown dismounting from one as the droids look on.
 * New shot of Ben Kenobi's hut done in CG replaces a previous shot of the Landspeeder parked near Ajim.
 * Luke's landspeeder hovers over the ground in a cleaner and more "realistic" manner.
 * Skeletal Remains of Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen were enhanced.
 * Mos Eisley is bigger and busier with an extended opening showing dinosaur like Rontos, slapstick Jawas, and droids. A ship takes off in the background which is said to be Dash Rendar's ship, the Outrider. Two stormtroopers can also be seen in a far shot standing watch.
 * A short pause of the camera features a Jawa being bucked from its Ronto mount.
 * The far shot of Mos Eisley spaceport, shows a ship taking off from the ground.
 * New aliens are seen in the Cantina replacing the "Wolfman" characters in two shots, though the Defel still appears in the cantina. Although these new characters look different from each other, they are actually both portrayed by the same mask. The mask was just turned around backwards for the second creature.
 * In Han’s last line to Greedo, "Yes, I’ll bet you have", the word "yes" is excised from the audio track, though Han’s mouth is still seen forming the word.
 * Greedo now fires a very badly aimed shot at Han before being shot in the cantina while Han bobs his head to "dodge" the shot. (It's worth noting that, although it seems like a minor change, it caused a great uproar in the community, and thousands of fans complained.)
 * A scene with no dialogue had Luke selling his landspeeder to a giant insectoid. Afterwards, Luke tells Obi-wan that "Ever since the XP-38 came out, they [the older model] just aren't in demand". This scene is rarely mentioned, and is not present on most "changes" lists.
 * A CGI version of Jabba the Hutt confronts Han Solo in the Millennium Falcon's launch bay, replacing a Human actor from a deleted scene that is now re-inserted after the Greedo scene. New dialogue was recorded in the Huttese language for this scene.
 * Due to a color timing error, when Luke swings his father's lightsaber in Ben's hut, it appears green (instead of blue).
 * A new Mos Eisley scene of the Falcon taking off with Troopers firing upon it. The angle of the Falcon flying off has also been adjusted.
 * Large shockwaves from the destruction of Alderaan and the Death Star have been added, and the explosions themselves are redone.
 * Due to color timing errors, a "pink glow" was apparent in many of the new Tatooine scenes, including the extended entry into Mos Eisley.
 * The Death Star docking bay is revised to be more consistent with the one seen in Return of the Jedi, most notably in the overhead shot when the Millennium Falcon has landed.
 * C-3PO's line where he describes the tractor beam's power systems is put back in.
 * New superimposed shots of the stormtroopers in the Death Star after Han Solo charges them, with extra "return fire" as Han flees the regrouped troopers.
 * When Han Solo and Chewbacca are chasing a squad of stormtroopers on the Death Star, instead of running to a dead end with more stormtroopers, the pair end up at a hangar bay with seemingly hundreds of stormtroopers and officers. Laser fire was increased in the next scene where Chewbacca approaches the corner.
 * The flashes of blaster impacts on the Imperial officers' chests were censored in all but one shot.
 * "Close the blast doors!" is put back into the scene where Han and Chewbacca jump through the doors as they close
 * A digital version of a shot of the Millennium Falcon flying below the Planet Yavin towards Yavin 4.
 * A scene between Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter, just before the Battle of Yavin. A pilot has been digitally inserted walking past the camera at one point to mask a deleted line by Red Leader (which in the script indicated that he knew Luke's father and his reputation as a pilot).
 * New digital shots of the X-Wings and Y-Wings taking off from Yavin 4 (in the original version, they just appeared as red flashes) and assembling in front of the Death Star.
 * New, additional, and revised dog fighting and attack run scenes during the battle with the Death Star
 * The line "Blast it Biggs, where are you?" was changed to "Blast it Wedge, where are you?"
 * After Red Leader's unsuccessful trench run, the line "He's on your tail!" was added to the film.
 * A blast scar indicating Red Leader's missed shot has been added to shots of the exhaust port, visible when Luke fires his.
 * The shot of the Rebel fighters flying to the Death Star and away from the Death Star has been revised.
 * Some garbage matte boxes around starships in space were removed (but some still remained).
 * When the proton torpedoes enter the exhaust port, a scorch mark where the previous shots hit is present.
 * During the victory celebration, as Luke, Han and Chewbacca enter the assembly hall, Rebel soldiers standing on the sides were cardboard cutouts in the original, they have now been replaced with actors composited in.
 * James Earl Jones was added to the credits as the voice of Darth Vader.
 * "Luke's Theme" is partially repeated in the ending credits music to make room for the Special Edition release credits.

The Empire Strikes Back

 * New scenes on Hoth with a fiercer-looking wampa ice creature (man in a suit), including showing the wampa screeching in agony following the loss of its limb. Two close-up shots of the original wampa mask are still noticeable.
 * The opening battle sequence was cleaned up.
 * Cockpits of the Snow speeders were cleaned up so as not to appear transparent.
 * The blaster bolts of the TIE fighters have been made more green.
 * New and additional shots of Cloud City with a CG Falcon and Cloud Cars approaching and flying through.
 * In the scene where Luke heads to Cloud City, the Cloud Car is replaced by a Tibanna refinery. (The Tibanna refinery is almost panned and scanned out of the full screen DVD version. The right side of the refinery can be seen briefly in the full screen DVD version if played on a PC.)
 * Several wall panels have been digitally replaced with windows on Cloud City.
 * Background cityscapes have been replaced in some areas with new CG versions.
 * Luke's line, "You're lucky you don't taste very good," after R2-D2 is spit out by a Dagobah swamp creature, is changed to "You were lucky to get out of there."
 * An additional CG shot of Slave I pursuing the Millennium Falcon out of the Star Destroyer's floating garbage has been added.
 * Lando Calrissian says "Attention" twice when he speaks on the Cloud City PA.
 * Shots of people listening to Lando on the Cloud City PA ordering the evacuation of the city are added
 * Luke screams as he jumps off the platform in Cloud City (the scream is actually lifted from the Emperor's death scream from Return Of The Jedi)
 * Darth Vader's line, "Bring my shuttle," is changed to "Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival." The rest of the scene is extended with an additional shot of Vader's shuttle flying, and his arrival on his Star Destroyer, actually an unused outtake from Return of the Jedi (that's Moff Jerrerod with his lines muted out who greets Vader).
 * A digital hatch has been added to replace the white light that appears when Lando opens the outer hatch of the Falcon to rescue Luke.
 * Some garbage matte boxes around starships were removed (but not all).
 * "The Imperial March" is partially repeated in the ending credits music to make room for the Special Edition release credits.

Return Of The Jedi

 * A new Jabba's Palace Band musical number, "Jedi Rocks" replaces "Lapti Nek"; Oola is now accompanied by three back-up dancers. Some other footage is added from the extended music video of Lapti Nek.
 * Boba Fett is briefly shown flirting with a dancer at Jabba's palace, and walking past Jabba.
 * A new shot of Oola was added showing her getting up inside the rancor's den and screaming.
 * Added scene on Tatooine of a herd of Banthas before heading to the Pit of Carkoon.
 * Right after the scene of the Banthas, the poorly composited guard walking about on the Sail Barge's deck was redone.
 * A revised version of the Sarlacc at the base of the Pit of Carkoon which features a beaklike mouth and extra tentacles.
 * CGI rope has been added around Han's ankles as he hangs onto the skiff by his toes.
 * In the original version, where Han is about to shoot the tentacle that is grabbing Lando, Han says "It's all right, trust me!" In the Special Edition, Han says "It's all right, I can see a lot better!"
 * In the original version, a flight of four TIE fighters appear from behind the camera flying towards the Death Star and disappear a second before the scene changes to the Emperor's arrival. This is corrected and the fighters continue heading toward the Death Star.
 * As with the destruction of the first Death Star, the second has been given a shockwave ring.
 * At the end of the trilogy after the Empire is defeated, scenes of celebration on Endor, Bespin, Tatooine, and Coruscant are shown. The "Ewok celebration" song (often referred to as "Yub Nub") during this sequence has been replaced with an entirely new John Williams composition, "Victory Celebration". A few quick shots of the Ewoks celebrating by bonfires and with different musical instruments (horns) have been added.
 * During the end celebration, a brief shot of Luke hugging Wedge Antilles was inserted.
 * "Parade of the Ewoks" is partially repeated in the ending credits music to make room for the new Special Edition release credits.
 * James Earl Jones was added to the credits as the voice of Darth Vader.

2001 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace DVD

 * Sebulba's subtitles during his angry chat with Anakin originally read, "You won't walk away from this one, Skywalker...you slave scum!". However, for the DVD, "Skywalker" was removed from the subtitle, since Sebulba doesn't actually say Anakin's last name in the scene.
 * Podrace grid sequence is extended
 * Podrace lap 2 extended
 * Watto's celebratory cry of "Sebulba!" is removed.
 * Air taxi sequence is reincorporated
 * Orn Free Taa's Human companions in his Senate pod are replaced by Twi'leks

Unreleased The Phantom Menace DVD

 * At the DVD press conference for Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars prequel trilogy animation director, Rob Coleman confirmed that the animation department at Lucasfilm has replaced the Yoda puppet from the original version of the film with a digital Yoda. This was done to better match up the look of the Yoda from The Phantom Menace with that of the other two films of the prequel trilogy.

A preview of these changes can be viewed on the Revenge of the Sith DVD, which was released on November 1, 2005. The clip is included as part of "The Chosen One" featurette. When Rob Coleman announced the change, he did not specify when the revised version of The Phantom Menace will be released.

2002 Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones DVD
Most of these changes did not appear in the main theatrical release, but made it into a version shown in select digital theaters.


 * Several speeders were removed from a shot during the Bounty Hunter pursuit scene.
 * New dialogue added to the scene where Anakin confesses to the Tusken slaughter to Padmé.
 * Additional sparks and smoke have been added to Jango Fett's jetpack shortly before his death to better present its malfunction.
 * After falling out of the gunship on Geonosis, a clone trooper asks if Padmé is all right. Her response of "yes" has been changed to a more realistic groggy "Uh-huh."
 * During their duel on Kamino a shot of Jango Fett headbutting Obi-Wan is removed from the UK version of the film and DVD.
 * Anakin's mechanical hand now holds Padmé's hand during the closing wedding sequence (this was originally included in the DLP theater release of the film).

2005 Revenge of the Sith DVD
Despite Lucasfilm's official statement that there were absolutely no changes made to the theatrical version of the film, the November 1, 2005 DVD release of Revenge of the Sith had a few slight changes from the theatrical cut.


 * In the scene where a shot transitions to Vader crawling up the lava bank, a wipe from the shot of Obi-Wan and Threepio in the cockpit of Padmé's ship leaving Mustafar to Vader's mechanical hand grasping at the volcanic soil has been replaced with a straight cut to this shot from the cockpit of Padmé's ship on the DVD.


 * There is a different wipe and slightly shorter "Noooo!!" from Darth Vader

2004 Star Wars Trilogy DVD
The 2004 DVD changes were made in an attempt to make a better connection between the old and new trilogies. The 2004 DVD releases also received John D. Lowry's digital restoration visual enhancement treatment. The following is a partial list of changes:

A New Hope

 * The Star Destroyer's pursuit of Tantive IV in the very beginning was sped up to make it look more like a real chase. The engines on the ships are also improved to look more realistic.
 * A beep is now heard when R2-D2 opens the escape pod aboard Tantive IV.
 * When the Jawa Sandcrawler stops outside the Lars Homestead, C-3PO says "We're stopped" before telling R2-D2 to wake up. He also says "Wake up!" an additional time.
 * The Long shot of Luke's Landspeeder in the canyon, with the two Tusken Raiders taking aim has been improved upon. Now instead of being merely a moving white "blob" the landspeeder is actually seen in minute detail.
 * Obi-Wan Kenobi's scream to scare off the Sand People has been changed to a higher-pitched wail. The new version of Kenobi's scream in the 2004 version sounds similar to a krayt dragon (first seen in Star Wars: Galaxies). This is similar to the sound that Boga on Utapau in Revenge of the Sith makes. Previously the sound had a dewback roar tacked onto the end.
 * More debris have been digitally added to the scene at the destroyed Jawa sandcrawler.
 * A brief shot of Luke's landspeeder as it enters Mos Eisley carrying Luke, Ben Kenobi, and the droids has been redone.
 * The odd "pink glow" is removed from the extended Mos Eisley entrance sequence (which includes what is described in the precedent entry).
 * The Mos Eisley/Greedo scene is redone yet again, so that Greedo and Han shoot at almost the exact same moment, but Greedo is still fractionally ahead. Han also dodges Greedo's shot by moving to his right in the new version in a slightly more lifelike manner. In addition, Han now says "Yes, I'll bet you have" - in the Special Edition, the "yes" was removed.
 * An improved CGI version of Jabba the Hutt now confronts Han Solo in the scene added to the 1997 re-release. This new version more closely resembles the way Jabba looked in Episode I.
 * When the docking bay controller tries to contact TK-421, slightly audible static can be heard over the communicator.
 * The Matte painting in the detention block has been extended, making the corridor seem longer. The painting's perspective has been edited to make it appear more realistic.
 * The dianoga's eye stalk that pops up over the water to spy on the heroes has been modified so that it blinks.
 * In the Death Star, several shots have been inserted that are previous shots of Obi-Wan searching for the Tractor Beam Generator. These shots are the reverse of their previous state to ensure the scene isn't inserted 'same'.
 * Due to color timing errors, R2-D2's blue domes are now a much brighter blue while he is on the Tatooine sands with Threepio after the pod crashes (compare to his coloration in other scenes).
 * Due to color timing errors, Princess Leia's makeup appears very caked on and pasty in several scenes, especially those on the Tantive IV (also in Episode VI on the Endor mission).
 * Due to color timing errors, the Rebel troopers on the Tantive IV sometimes appear to be wearing blue uniforms (they are actually gray in most shots).
 * The colors of some spaceship explosions have been changed.
 * The colors depicting the destruction of the planet Alderaan and the Death Star were changed.
 * The English writing in the Death Star tractor beam control panel ("POWER - TRACTOR BEAM 12 (SEC. N6)" and "INOPERATIVE") is changed to the standard Star Wars "foreign" (Aurebesh) writing. The word "INOPERATIVE" is panned and scanned out of the full screen DVD version.
 * An audible bump was added to the infamous gaff where the one screen-right shacks his head on the door-frame when the stormtroopers break into the control room. This mistake had been hinted at in Episode II (When Jango Fett - escaping from Obi-Wan on Kamino - bangs his helmet on the closing door of the Slave I.) The lead stormtrooper now also says "See to him", in reference to the unfortunately tall trooper.
 * Line "There's no one here" has been added as the stormtroopers are searching the Falcon.
 * Luke and Leia's voice echo when they are trapped in the Death Star chasm has been redone more realistically.
 * The glow of the lightsabers has been slightly improved to look more like other episodes, though still not near their quality. (NOTE: In Luke's training on the Millennium Falcon, the lightsaber is not blue as it ought to be in every shot; for one shot the blade is green, and for the others it was not colored at all and remains white. In the new version the lightsaber is green in almost every shot except near the end, when Luke dons the helmet and begins to block the shots fired by the remote. There are also several lightsaber mistakes still visible in the battle between Obi-Wan and Vader, such as Vader's lightsaber changing color, and Obi-Wan's missing its core, plus a few far shots still show uncolored lightsabers)
 * Additionally, the first instance of Luke swinging a lightsaber, in Ben's hut, has been fixed so that it is blue again (the glow effect is remarkably different than when it is seen again on the Falcon).
 * Obi-Wan's lightsaber blade is thinner than previous versions in every shot, including when he uses it in the Cantina.
 * John Williams's score has been quieted or eliminated from some portions of the Battle of Yavin scene, such as "The Force Theme" when the X-Wings make their first attack run which is now drowned out by the loud engines (except on the French audio track).
 * During the dialogue between Tarkin and Leia, their voices change modulation noticeably mid-sentence, and Leia's lines exhibit background hiss whenever she speaks.
 * The shot of the Y-Wings descending to make the first attack run has been fixed. Originally, the two lead Y-Wings disappear when their leading edges touch the bottom of the screen but the third one smoothly moves out of frame like it should. Now all three move smoothly out of frame.
 * The left and right rear channels of the score have also been swapped. 20th Century Fox claims these and other audio changes are "deliberate creative decisions" and not mistakes.
 * The line "Blast it Wedge, where are you?" was changed back to "Blast it Biggs, where are you?"
 * The "He's on your tail!" that was added for the 1997 Special Edition was removed.
 * The Code Cylinders in Grand Moff Tarkin's uniform jacket no longer move up and down between shots.
 * As the blast door closes after Luke blasts the controls, Darth Vader's lightsaber is finally red.

The Empire Strikes Back

 * In a scene where Darth Vader speaks to the Emperor via hologram, the Emperor is now Palpatine as portrayed by Ian McDiarmid (in the original film and the Special Edition, an unidentified actress wearing a specially made mask with chimpanzee's eyes superimposed over her own portrayed the Emperor, whose voice was dubbed in by Clive Revill.) A few lines of new dialogue have been added to this scene as well, in which Palpatine informs Vader that their new enemy is "the offspring of Anakin Skywalker."
 * The four lines spoken by Boba Fett (Originally in the voice of Jason Wingreen) are now in the voice of Temuera Morrison, the actor who played Jango Fett (Boba Fett's clone "father"). The engine sounds of his ship, Slave I, have also been modified to sound as they did in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
 * The odd "pink glow" on the scene where the Cloud Car is replaced by the Tibanna refinery in the Special Edition version is removed.
 * In both the original and Special Edition versions of the film, during the scene in which Han is lowered into the carbon-freezing chamber, a shadow on the actor's clothing has given rise to a rumored (but false) wardrobe blooper of him wearing his dark jacket during one shot (behind the scenes shots of the scene dispel the rumor). The "jacket" has been digitally erased in this release.
 * The tracked Emperor death scream by Luke Skywalker introduced in the Special Edition re-release, which is heard during Luke's voluntary fall from the Cloud City platform after his fight with Vader, was removed.
 * In the original and special edition, when Darth Vader asks if the Falcon's hyperdrive is deactivated, Admiral Piett's rank plaque and code cylinders are on the wrong side of his uniform (the plaque is suppose to be on the left side of his tunic, but it was on his right side). This is corrected and Piett has the correct rank placement on his uniform. The same was done for another officer in the same shot.
 * Darth Vader's lightsaber in the Luke/Vader duel now looks pink instead of red in almost all the shots it is in (this problem is also in the Episode VI lightsaber duel as well). It also changes to orange in a few shots (when Vader leaps at Luke in their duel in the Carbon freezing chamber, and when they encounter in the cave on Dagobah).
 * Due to color timing issues, Yoda appears much more green than in previous versions.
 * At least one shot of R2-D2 in space has been modified with CG recoloring to make him have blue panels instead of black (the blue screen technique in the original film removed all color from the droid). With the new coloring, his black central "eye" appears much smaller than normal. Despite this fix, R2-D2's domes appear black in several other shots throughout this release of the trilogy.
 * The credits are unchanged from the 1997 Special Edition, except that the format was changed in make it more in line with the credits roll of the prequel trilogy.

Return of the Jedi

 * The dialogue spoken by Jabba the Hutt in the scene where he is discussing the price for Chewbacca that had the subtitles added in the 1997 Special Edition has the subtitles removed, making C-3PO's dialogue in the scene relevant again.
 * The matte lines on the rancor have been completely erased and the blue screen glow on the figure of Luke has been removed, with the colors being retimed to match, making the two appear to be in the same scene together.
 * Boba Fett now laughs along with Jabba the Hutt while Luke fights the rancor, matching his laugh from Attack of the Clones. The "Heh heh heh heh!" is very subtle and easy to miss.
 * During the Speeder Bike chase through the Forests of Endor, Luke's Speeder Bike has had its speed decreased when Luke slows down to attack the two Imperial scouts following Himself and Leia. This was made to add realism upon braking speed and to also match the Commander Neyo's Speeder Bike attack upon Jedi Master Stass Allie on Saleucami in Revenge of the Sith.
 * In Anakin Skywalker's final scene, when he is not wearing his helmet, the eyebrows of actor Sebastian Shaw have been digitally removed. This is meant to indicate what happens to Anakin's eyebrows when he gets burned alive on Mustafar after the duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi. His eyes have also been changed to blue, to better resemble the Anakin portrayed by Hayden Christensen in the prequel trilogy. His skin tone has also been altered so it appears gray and colorless, instead of fleshy and pale like it was previously (also compare to his exposed head in Empire Strikes Back).
 * Another scene of celebration, this one on Naboo, is shown after the Empire is defeated. A Gungan can be heard saying "Wesa free!" Some Star Wars fansites suspect this is Jar Jar Binks; however, this is only speculation.
 * On the Coruscant celebration scene, one can see the Galactic Senate building in the distance at the start of the shot, and the Jedi Temple at the end. These replaced generic buildings that appeared in the 1997 Special Edition. This is meant to indicate that the Jedi Temple was not destroyed during the Great Jedi Purge.
 * Due to color timing errors, Leia's makeup in the shuttle on their way to the Endor mission and on the ground appears very caked on and pasty.
 * When the Second Death Star fires its first laserbeam, there is an Insert from A New Hope where two Death Star Gunners shield their faces from the blast. This scene is shot in Reverse to the original from the First Death Star.
 * Vader's lightsaber appears pink or red-violet in several scenes, then changes back to the normal red (compare the shot where he is searching for Luke who is hiding, versus most of their fight prior).
 * At the beginning of the duel between Luke and Vader, in the scene where their sabers clash in front of the Emperor's face, the scene has been noticeably darkened. The lowered brightness hides the "Emperor's Slugs" gaffe (dark colored blobs on the actor's hood to cover gaps in the makeup). This darkening makes the lightsabers appear to intersect, and makes it appear that Vader's saber is in front of Luke's, suggesting that he was trying to kill his master rather than defend him (this is of course an unintended consequence of the gaffe).
 * In the final scene where the spirits of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Yoda appear to Luke, the head of Sebastian Shaw (as Anakin) has been replaced with the head of Hayden Christensen (the body remains Shaw's). Lucas has said that the reason he made this change was because after redemption, Anakin returned to his "inner persona", once one with the Force, and appeared the way he was before he turned to the dark side of the Force.

Note that in all three films, the ending credits have remained unchanged from the Special Edition releases in 1997. Thus, they do not reflect such changes as Ian McDiarmid's Emperor in The Empire Strikes Back or Hayden Christensen's Anakin in Return of the Jedi. However, the font was changed in order to reflect the credits of the prequel trilogy. In the case of pan-and-scan versions of the re-releases, the 2004 DVD releases were pan-and-scanned differently from the 1997 theatrical releases.

Controversy
Many fans were displeased by some of the changes Lucas has made. It is the most evergreen topic for fan criticism of George Lucas and is the most broadly accepted as inspiring legitimate objections. Re-release changes were also the first major cause of the reactionary criticism phenomenon that takes a vehemently anti-Lucas stance, known as "Lucas bashing".

Greedo shooting at Han is particularly contentious. In the 2004 Special Edition DVD set the shots are timed to occur almost simultaneously, with Greedo's shot being just a hair faster and with Solo now effectively dodging his head out of the way from the blast. However, many argue that not only should Greedo not have made his shot, but that the scene undermines Solo's character. Han's original action marked him as a tough, independent-minded character; having him respond to Greedo makes him appear weaker, though he is still nonchalant about killing him. This change was so controversial that it spanned a movement called "Han shot first", a retort to Lucas' assertion that Greedo shot first.

There was also controversy over Lucas's decision to place Hayden Christensen in the end scene of Return of the Jedi in favor of Sebastian Shaw, as well as replacing the heavy fan favorite "Boba Fett's" voice with Temuera Morrison's (Jango Fett). Many longtime fans feel that it's disrespectful to the original trilogy, although some increasingly feel that it helps the two trilogies flow together better.

The altering of the dialogue between the Emperor and Vader has also been criticized as creating a contradiction, since it implies Vader does not realize Luke is his son until this moment, despite his being "obsessed" with finding Skywalker, mentioning him by name and pursuing him for the rest of the movie until this point. Defenders have argued that the scene is an improvement because it provides another blatant example of Vader plotting against his master by playing dumb in the face of this revelation.

Other fans especially missed the "songs" that were altered in Return of the Jedi ("Lapti Nek" and "Yub Nub"). They point out that the new music makes the Ewok's dancing and antics seem out of place (for example the "Stormtrooper Helmet drums" were beat in sync with the original music in the theatrical version). Others have argued that the new flute music and pan over shots of the planets being liberated makes a more effective end to the entire saga, rather than just a celebration of the single battle. The alteration of "Lapti Nek" into the new "Jedi Rocks" to many critics helps to undermine the serious nature and threat of Jabba the Hutt and his evil henchmen. They characterize the new sequence as "cartoonish," with overt pandering to Boba Fett "fanboys" by introducing superfluous shots of a new actor in the bounty hunter suit.

A final alteration, unique to the 2004 DVD release, is that of lightsaber discoloration. In the scene in Episode IV where Luke trains against the practice droid aboard the Millennium Falcon, his lightsaber blade is inexplicably given a faint (but distinct) green color. Also, Vader's blade, in particular, is given a "pink" hue throughout the original trilogy. Perhaps the largest infraction is a scene in which two blades are seen to pass "through" one another during the final climax of Episode VI.

Many fans hoped that Lucas would release the original versions of the original Star Wars Trilogy on DVD, alongside his newly re-edited versions. Lucasfilm have announced that these releases will finally be made available as "Limited Edition" 2-disc sets between September and December 2006.

On December 9, 2005, a new set of Star Wars original trilogy DVDs were released, also with the label "Limited Edition". However, it was merely a repackaged and discounted version of the 2004 set with no changes, and no original versions (despite packaging that some felt was misleading in that it used the original theatrical film posters, as if to imply that these were the original versions). The set was discounted in price, with the fourth (bonus) disc from the previously released 2004 set removed.

Fans and critics alike continue to speculate that Lucas will make further changes to his films (both trilogies) for inevitable subsequent releases on next generation formats like HD DVD and Blu-Ray, and a generation-after-next format whatever this may be, but this remains speculation.

Reportedly, nostalgia for the original versions of the original Star Wars Trilogy on a high quality format has driven up the demand for the Laser Disc editions of the movies released prior to 1997, as well as the proliferation of fan made DVD's, often encoded from the Laser Disc originals. How far the demand will go depends upon sales of the current "official" releases of the original versions of the classic trilogy on DVD.