Changes in Star Wars re-releases

The Star Wars logo, as seen in all of the films

The following are partial lists of changes in Star Wars re-releases. The commercial success of Star Wars gave George Lucas the opportunity to alter the original films of the trilogy: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. Many changes were motivated by Lucas's stated desire to make the original films closer to his vision for them.

The new versions made heavy use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) and other new production techniques that emerged in the decades after the original trilogy was produced. Other changes enhanced the cohesiveness of the films and eliminated continuity errors between the original trilogy and the three prequels produced in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The changes are controversial, with opponents claiming that the changes detract from the character arc of the films and tend to be more distracting than expedient.

In a September 2004 MSNBC article, Lucas claimed that the original films were "25 to 30 percent" of what he intended. Along with obvious changes to various scenes, the re-releases set out to improve the visual and audio quality of the films. According to Lucasfilm, the 2004 Special Edition is the canonical version of the original trilogy, though the original, unaltered theatrical editions were later released on DVD in 2006.

Changes to Star Wars films after their theatrical release were not limited to the original trilogy. Changes were also made to the DVD releases of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones; all six movies were modified again for the 2011 release of Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray edition.

George Lucas on the special editions

There will only be one [version of the films]. 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-foot-by-40-foot screen with perfect quality. I think it's the director's prerogative, not the studio's, to go back and reinvent a movie.

Changes

Pre-Special Edition

Although not as obvious as the 1997 Special Edition re-release of the original trilogy, there were still some alterations made in 1981.

Episode IV: A New Hope

• The subtitle "Episode IV: A NEW HOPE" was added to the opening title crawl upon the film's 1981 re-release, one year after Episode V was released with its full title. The new opening crawl also capitalized the word 'Rebel' in 'rebel spies', which was not capitalized in the original 1977 opening crawl. This altered the formatting of the text to accommodate the two additional lines, and slightly changed the timing so the crawl no longer appears at the same music cue. (This last change had been present on Empire's initial release, and would remain on all four subsequent films as well.) The "Episode IV: A NEW HOPE" subtitle would appear in all future releases of the film with the exception of the 2006 bonus DVD release of the unaltered film.
• The film was initially released in 70mm 6-track audio (closer to the equivalent of a 4.1 track as opposed to a 5.1 track). The wider 35mm release had a 2-track Dolby Stereo matrixed 4-channel optical soundtrack. A mono mix was released in June 1977 for exhibition in cinemas with no Dolby Stereo support, which contains some changes from the stereo version (some of which were incorporated into subsequent releases if noted):
• A different klaxon, closer to the one heard in the Death Star, is heard in Tantive IV after the ship has been hit.
• Beru Lars is voiced by a different actress (or possibly different takes by the same actress).
• R2-D2 beeps while he is looking at a dead Jawa during the damaged Sandcrawler scene. This sound was inserted into the 1993 Definitive Collection and also appears on the 1997 Special Edition, the 2004 DVD and the 2011 Blu-ray.
• As Luke, Obi-Wan, C-3PO and R2-D2 head into the cantina, the cantina music can faintly be heard in the background.
• The cantina patron known on set as "Snake Head" (known later as Dice Ibegon) makes chirping sounds in the mono mix. A truncated version of this sound appears in the Definitive Collection mix, while the full sound effect can be heard in the Special Edition, the DVD and the Blu-ray.
• When the two stormtroopers walk by Han and Chewbacca in the cantina, Chewbacca growls softly. The growl was added to the Definitive Collection and also appears on the Special Edition, the DVD and the Blu-ray.
• While searching for the droids in the streets of Mos Eisley, the stormtrooper says "All right, check that side of the street. It's secure. Move on to the next one." Instead of "All right, check this side of the street. The door's locked. Move on to the next one." The line is also heard in a different voice in the mono mix.
• Chewbacca growls softly right before Han says, "Anyway, we should be at Alderaan in 0200 hours." This growl was incorporated into the DVD mix and Blu-ray but does not appear in the previous Definitive Collection mix or Special Edition mix.
• The chess monsters make more noise and sound more vicious. The DVD mix is different yet again, incorporating elements from both earlier mixes.
• When the Millennium Falcon comes out of hyperspace there is a pronounced deceleration or winding down sound effect.
• After Han says, "Chewie, jam its transmissions" a radio frequency type sound effect is heard when Chewbacca flips the switches.
• A different sound effect is heard when the Millennium Falcon gets caught in the Death Star's tractor beam.
• C-3PO's tractor beam line was added to the mono version. This line was also included in the 1985 VHS release, the 1997 special edition, the 2004 DVD version and the 2011 Blu-ray edition. It was not included in the 1993 Definitive Collection mix.
• When reporting the disturbance in the detention block to Tarkin, the voice over the comlink says, "Governor Tarkin?" before "We have an emergency alert in detention block AA-23." It is also said in a different voice.
• When Chewbacca beats on the door in the trash compactor, a knocking sound is heard. This sound returned with the Special Edition, DVD, and Blu-ray with a metallic clank to it.
• C-3PO's line, "Use the comlink? Oh my, I forgot, I turned it off." is from a different take.
• Luke's line, "What good will it do us if he gets himself killed?" is from a different take.
• The hard echo effect for Luke's line, "I think we took a wrong turn." is removed.
• After Luke hands Leia his blaster in the chasm swing sequence, it sounds like Dirty Harry's .44 Magnum when she fires it. This is present in the Special Edition, but was changed back to a standard blaster sound in the DVD and the Blu-ray.
• The line "Close the blast doors!" was in the mono release. This line was also included in the special edition, the DVD version, and the Blu-ray. It was not included in the Definitive Collection mix.
• Some of the Lightsaber sound effects were slightly more pronounced in the Darth Vader vs. Obi-Wan duel. These were added to the DVD release and the Blu-ray.
• Various beeping sound effects were heard when Luke charged up his gun turret in the Millennium Falcon. These sounds returned with the DVD release.
• The first three lines of Luke and Han's conversation about Han getting his reward and leaving are from different takes.
• Most of the static is removed from the voice-overs heard in the control room and in the fighter planes during the Death Star battle.
• Different sound effects are heard when the X-Wings lock their S-Foils in attack position. These returned with the Special Edition.
• Porkins' final scream is not heard in the mono mix.
• The lines counting down the Death Star's time to firing are in a different voice.
• Luke says "Blast it, Wedge! Where are you?" instead of "Blast it, Biggs! Where are you?"
• Ben Burtt supervised remastering of the sound mix for the 1985 VHS/Laserdisc release, which contains C-3PO's tractor beam line. Aside from this line, better dynamic range, and a slightly wider stereo image, this version is almost the same as the 1977 stereo mix.
• Another remix was produced for the 1993 Definitive Collection Laserdisc (which was repackaged in 1995 and known as the "Faces" VHS/Laserdisc release) and the 2006 bonus DVD release. This mix was a matrixed stereo version of the 1977 70mm 6-track mix, with brand-new sound effects added, such as glass shattering when Han and Luke shoot the cameras in the detention block. C-3PO's tractor beam line is, again, not present in this mix.
• The color timing in the Definitive Collection was altered slightly in the scene with R2-D2 in the canyon before he is captured by the Jawas. The original version of the scene takes place in daylight, while the color in the Definitive Collection version is adjusted to make it appear more like twilight. This was further changed in the Special Edition, when the image was darkened and the sky altered from blue to an orange sunset.

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

The 70mm film version of the film included a number of visual differences from the more widely seen 35mm version. Since all subsequent home video releases have been based on the 35mm version, it is difficult to substantiate these differences, however the list below was provided by Michael Matessino (who apparently saw the film 70 times theatrically in 1980) in Volume 2, Issue 1 of Film Score Monthly.

• After the probe lands on Hoth and moves frame left, there is an optical wipe to the overhead shot of Luke on his tauntaun, instead of a straight cut.
• 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-OneBee 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 C3PO 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.
• 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.
• In the final scene, there is no tracked music from "Yoda and the Force". The scene begins with the first establishing shot of the rebel fleet, then cuts inside the Falcon for Lando to say "Luke, we’re ready for take-off" (but a different take of this is used). After Luke says (voice over), "Good luck, Lando," scene cuts to inside the Rebel cruiser where Luke says "I’ll meet you at the rendezvous," etc. Not in this version are two more establishing shots of the fleet and an interim effects shot over which Lando says, "When we find Jabba the Hutt and that bounty hunter we'll contact you."

Early releases and broadcasts

During the era of the LaserDisc and CED videodisc systems, Episodes IV and V were time-compressed (and thereby visually and aurally sped) by 3% for initial single-disc issues, thus the original 121-minute version of Episode IV became a 118-minute film, while Episode V's original 124-minute running time became 120 minutes. However, no scenes were taken out and no new ones put back in. The time-compressed Episode IV has been used for some early CBS/Fox Video VHS issues and initial cable broadcasts on HBO, as well as years later for USA Network. In addition, the pan-and-scanning on the HBO airings is visually different from the VHS issues. The time-compressed Episode V aired on NBC for its broadcast premiere, and also aired later on USA.

Initial LaserDisc widescreen issues of the original version of Episode VI has its aspect ratio modified from 2.35:1 to almost 2:1 and the overall widescreen frame re-positioned to be seen over the first 2/3s of the then-common 1.33:1 ratio of television sets in order to place the few subtitles in the bottom black bar of the screen. All subsequent widescreen versions have the 2.35:1 image properly centered on television screens.

1997 Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition

Special coverage on CNN in 1997 notes that Lucas spent $10 million to rework his original 1977 film, which cost $26.49 million (in 1997 dollars) to produce in 1977. Of that amount, $3 million was spent on the audio track for the special edition. Lucas also spent $2.5 million each on Episodes V and VI. All of the films have newer versions of the 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm production logos.

The following is a partial list of changes:

Episode IV: A New Hope

See also: Han shot first

• Additional dewbacks and search teams are visible as the Stormtroopers look for the missing droids. An Imperial transport can be seen taking off in the background.
• There is a new shot of an evening Tatooine sky that tilts down to show the opening of the scene in which R2-D2 is wandering through the hills before he is captured by Jawas.
• The Jawa sandcrawler has been revised. The sunset progression has been enhanced, with the sky darkened and stars added at the end of the sequence. The scene where R2-D2 is captured has been tinted red to resemble a sunset.
• The interface on Luke's viewfinder has been altered as he looks for R2-D2 after eating dinner
• A new digital matte painting of the sandcrawler and extended sky was 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.
• There is a new establishing shot of Ben Kenobi's hut.
• Mos Eisley is bigger and busier. Family members of ILM employees wore costumes and walked around a bluescreen mat. Their images were composited into the new scenes.
• Dash Rendar's ship, the Outrider, can be seen taking off in the background when Luke's landspeeder enters the city.
• The blur under the landspeeder caused by poor image quality from repeated optical compositing to obscure the wheels of the landspeeder with a hand-animated haze was removed and replaced with a new, more accurately shaped shadow.
• A short pause of the camera features a Jawa being bucked from its Ronto mount.
• New aliens are seen in the Cantina.
• In the cantina, Greedo now fires first as Han dodges the shot then returns fire on Greedo. This is one of the more famous and controversial changes to the film.
• A CGI version of Jabba the Hutt confronts Han in the Millennium Falcon's launch bay with new dialogue recorded in the Huttese language. The live action footage in the scene was from the original 1976 shoot. This scene also includes Boba Fett.
• There is a new scene in the Mos Eisley docks of the Falcon taking off.
• The explosion when Alderaan is destroyed by the Death Star has been completely redone using the Praxis effect (so named for a similar effect seen in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country).
• 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 describing the tractor beam's power systems has been put back in after being deleted in the previous stereo sound versions.
• The flashes of blaster impacts on some of the Imperial officers were censored.
• When Han Solo is chasing a squad of Stormtroopers on the Death Star, instead of running to a dead end, he ends up at a hangar bay with seemingly hundreds of Stormtroopers and officers.
• "Close the blast doors!" is put back into the scene where Han and Chewbacca, pursued by Stormtroopers, jump through the doors as they close.
• Two shots of the Millennium Falcon approaching Yavin have been completely re-shot.
• The Falcon can now be seen landing on the 4th moon.
• A new digital matte painting is used in the establishing shot of the Rebel base temple.
• Additional fighters have been added to the matte painting of the Rebel hangar.
• A scene between Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter just before the Battle of Yavin has been inserted.
• There are new digital shots of the X-wings and Y-wings taking off from Yavin (in the original version, they just appeared as white flashes) and approaching the Death Star. Additionally, the attack force's approach to the Death Star is now presented as a single shot, as opposed to two separate shots in the 1977 original.
• There are new and revised dog fighting and attack run scenes during the battle at the Death Star.
• After Red Leader's unsuccessful trench run, the line "He's on your tail!" was added to the film.
• The shot of the Rebel fighters flying away from the Death Star has been revised.
• The Praxis effect shockwave was also added to the destruction of the Death Star.
• Matte paintings (or cardboard cutouts) of the members of the assembly on the left and right sides of the Throne Room at the end of the film when Luke, Han, and Chewbacca approach the throne have been digitally replaced with real humans.
• James Earl Jones is now credited.
• "Luke's Theme" is partially repeated in the ending credits music to make room for the Special Edition release credits.

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

• The opening battle sequence was cleaned up, including fixing some instances where the blue screen process allowed the cockpit window frames of the snow speeders to be partially transparent.
• There are new scenes on Hoth with a redesigned wampa ice creature, including showing the full-body wampa eating a carcass and later screeching in agony following the loss of its limb. Two close-up shots of the original wampa mask are still noticeable.
• When Luke Skywalker heads to the exit of the wampa's cave, his lightsaber's deactivation sound is heard, even though the blade does not retract.
• The transparency of the in cockpit shots of the snowspeeders during the Battle of Hoth have been lessened compared to earlier versions.
• During the Battle of Hoth, Luke now says "This is it" just before Zev Senesca's snowspeeder is shot down by the AT-AT walkers.
• Errors were corrected from the original version wherein the blue rank indicators on Imperial uniforms turned black, likely because of the blue screen process that was meant to create a view of space outside a window.
• The scene where the Slave I follows the Falcon out of the Star Destroyer's floating garbage includes a newly created CG shot of it pursuing the Falcon.
• At the opening shot of Cloud City, the Cloud Car was replaced by a Tibanna refinery, though it is almost panned and scanned out of the 2004 full screen DVD version. The right side of the refinery can be seen briefly in the 2004 full screen DVD version if played on a PC or LCD television monitor.
• There are new and additional shots of Cloud City.
• Several wall panels have been digitally replaced with windows to show more of Cloud City, correcting one of director Irvin Kershner's complaints about shooting the film.
• Luke's line, "You're lucky you don't taste very good," after R2-D2 is spat out by a Dagobah dragonsnake is changed back to the original "You were lucky to get out of there." (This change also remains in the 2004 DVD release.)
• The sound of the voice that says "Who are you?!" to C-3PO on Cloud City right before he gets blasted has been changed.
• When Luke knocks Darth Vader off a platform during their lightsaber duel, his muffled scream is replaced with the same scream he makes when Luke sprays him with the severed tibanna gas nozzle earlier in the duel.
• Lando Calrissian says "Attention" twice (instead of once) when he speaks on the Cloud City public address system.
• Shots of people listening to Lando on the PA ordering the evacuation of the city have been 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). The 1997 special edition is the only version to feature the scream as it has been removed from the 2004 release. Lucas' reasoning for removing the scream was that since Luke purposely fell, he would not scream.
• Darth Vader's tense but forceful line, "Bring my shuttle," has been changed to the more calmly toned "Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival," a line originally recorded for A New Hope. A wide-angle CGI visual has been added showing Vader boarding his shuttle. This short added scene is spliced directly into the action surrounding Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca's attempt to rescue Luke as he dangles from an antenna below Cloud City. The music track that has become known as "Rescue from Cloud City / Hyperspace" - a track that, in the film's original version, begins from the moment Vader cuts off Luke's hand and continues until Vader storms off the bridge of the Executor after the Millennium Falcon escapes into hyperspace - is also now spliced in a manner corresponding to the insertion of the short added scene. Specifically, for approximately 5 to 10 seconds, music originally played at the moment Vader informs Luke of his parentage (itself an earlier part of the "Rescue from Cloud City / Hyperspace" track) is inserted.
• There is a new shot of Darth Vader's shuttle heading toward his star destroyer.
• A digital hatch has been added to replace the white light that appears when Lando opens the outer hatch to rescue Luke.
• A new scene with Darth Vader landing in the docking bay of his Star Destroyer is included, taken from an outtake from Return of the Jedi. Like the footage of Vader boarding his shuttle, this short scene is similarly spliced directly into the action surrounding the Millennium Falcon's escape from Bespin, and the music accompanying the added footage (both a few seconds of music taken from the very beginning of "Rescue from Cloud City / Hyperspace" and then a few seconds of the same music that was used during the shuttle-boarding footage insertion) likewise cuts incongruously into "Rescue from Cloud City / Hyperspace."
• "The Imperial March" is partially repeated in the ending credits music to make room for the Special Edition release credits.
• Like Episode IV, matte lines have been removed via digital compositing.
• R2-D2's panels have been colorized blue replacing the original black. Note: The black version was used in bluescreen shots in Star Wars Episodes IV, V, and VI.

There were also a large number of audio changes to the Special Edition version, all of which were incorporated into all subsequent releases of the film, unless otherwise noted.

• On Hoth, right after C-3PO tells R2-D2 to "Switch off", R2 gives out a little "blurp".
• When Luke 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, "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, 3PO."
• The line "Headquarters personnel report to Command Center" is said three times instead of two.
• The line "The first transport is away!" is said in a different voice.
• When R2-D2 is being loaded into Luke's X-Wing, C-3PO says "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 nowhere to go."
• In the scene where R2-D2 is spat out by the bog beast, Luke says "You were lucky to get out of there," instead of "You're lucky you don't taste very good." This line was not in the 1993/1995 THX mix.
• Yoda makes a frightened "AAHHH" sound when Luke points his blaster at him.
• Yoda says, "Yes, run!" before "Yes. A Jedi's strength flows from the force." The following lines, "But beware the dark side. Anger, fear, agression. The dark side of the force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight" are also much louder and clearer.
• The Imperial fleet establishing shot after the magic tree scene has a different TIE fighter sound effect.
• A different part of The Imperial March plays during the shot of the Imperial fleet right before Darth Vader kills Captain Needa.
• In Cloud City, after C-3PO says, "That sound 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 heard louder and clearer.
• During the duel, when Luke knocks Darth Vader off the platform, Vader lets out an "ooooh!" instead of an "aaargh!"

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

• A new Jabba's Palace Band musical number, "Jedi Rocks" replaces "Lapti Nek" with additional footage from the extended music number of "Lapti Nek." The puppet of female alien singer Sy Snootles is replaced with a new CGI version, though prior to the number the puppet can still be seen in the palace with her original headdress feather in place.
• Nine new characters were added to the Max Rebo Band: Joh Yowza, Umpass-stay, Ak-rev, Barquin D'an (Figrin D'an's brother), Doda Bodonawieedo, Greeata Jendowanian, Lyn Me, Rappertunie, and Rystáll.
• There is an additional scene of Oola in the Rancor pit. In the newly shot scene, Oola is played by Femi Taylor reprising her role 14 years after the original film. Taylor was cast in the new scenes after her brother, Benedict Taylor, who would later to work on The Phantom Menace, spoke to a friend who was working on the special edition who mentioned that they were working on the dance scene in Jabba's palace. Taylor's brother mentioned that his sister was in the original, and was in even better shape than she had been 15 years previously. Taylor was subsequently recast in the role, and a number of shots of her new dance moves were edited into the original footage with no noticeable difference in her appearance in the 15 years between the two shots.
• Boba Fett is briefly shown flirting with the Max Rebo band dancers Rystall and Lyn Me at Jabba's palace.
• Subtitles have been added to the dialogue between Boushh and Jabba the Hutt when discussing the bounty for capturing Chewbacca, although C-3PO still interprets the conversation.
• Live action elements, before scenes at the Pit of Carkoon, of a herd of wild Banthas on Tatooine have been digitally replicated.
• The Sarlacc now has extra CG tentacles and CG beak at its center.
• During Han's attempt to rescue Lando from the Sarlacc, the skiff rocks more dynamically when it is shot rather than simply tipping forward as before.
• When shooting the sarlacc tentacle, Han says "It's all right, I can see a lot better" rather than the original "It's all right, trust me."
• CGI rope has been added around Han's ankles as he dangles from the skiff above the Sarlacc.
• In the original version, a flight of four TIE fighters appear from behind the camera flying toward 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.
• During the space battle, Lando now says, "We're sure in the middle of it now" directly before he says, "C'mon Han old buddy, don't let me down."
• As with the destruction of the first Death Star, the second Death Star has a more pronounced explosion employing the Praxis effect.
• At the end of the trilogy after the Empire is defeated, scenes of celebration on Bespin, Tatooine, and Coruscant are shown in addition to the original and new celebration scenes on Endor. The musical theme "Ewok Celebration" during this sequence has been replaced with an entirely new John Williams composition, "Victory Celebration."
• During the end celebration, a brief shot of Luke hugging Wedge Antilles was inserted.
• The ghost scene is also slightly edited. Originally, there is one medium shot of the ghosts of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, followed by Luke rejoining his friends, and then another long shot of Anakin, Obi-Wan and Yoda. For the special edition, the medium shot is split in two, so that the first medium shot is shorter, and ends with Obi-Wan looking down at Yoda, then cuts to Luke rejoining the rebels, then cuts back to the rest of the medium shot, before cutting to Luke, and then finally back to the long shot of the ghosts.
• "Parade of the Ewoks" is partially repeated in the ending credits music to make room for the new Special Edition release credits.
• Matte lines and bluescreen elements have been removed and sometimes shots have been recomposited.
• Unlike ESB and A New Hope, fewer wipes have been optically redone.

2004 Star Wars Trilogy DVD Box Set

In 2004, a DVD box set of the original trilogy films was released with some changes to establish a better connection between the old and new trilogies. The 2004 DVD box set also received John D. Lowry's digital restoration and visual enhancement treatment. However, either due to Lowry's remastering or ILM's continued tinkering, all three films suffer from very poor color correction, resulting in issues such as occasional miscolored lightsaber blades, a general excessive blue cast to Empire (especially during the Hoth scenes), Yoda's color being wildly inconsistent throughout Empire and Jedi, and many other color-related issues, none of which had been apparent in any release prior to 2004. The new 5.1 audio mix of A New Hope also had the issue of the music's left and right channels being swapped in the rear channels, and several instances of music nearly being mixed out of the film completely. Lucasfilm claimed that these issues were deliberate creative decisions. The following is a partial list of changes:

Episode IV: A New Hope

• Before R2-D2 and C-3PO enter the escape pod near the beginning of the movie, a beeping sound is added when R2 pushes the switches to open the door to the escape pod.
• When the Jawa Sandcrawler stops outside the Lars Homestead, C-3PO says "We've stopped" before telling R2-D2 to wake up.
• The long shot of Luke's Landspeeder in the canyon with the two Tusken Raiders taking aim has changed. Now, instead of being merely a moving white blob, the landspeeder is seen in detail.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi's scream to scare off the Sand People has been changed to a higher-pitched wail. The old version of Obi-Wan's scream in the original and 1997 versions sounded similar to a dewback. The new version of Obi-Wan's scream in the 2004 version sounds similar to a krayt dragon.
• The scene in Obi-Wan's hut where Luke ignites his father's lightsaber for the first time features a revised lightsaber blade compared to previous versions (though despite this revision, Luke's lightsaber is left mostly unchanged during the later training scene aboard the Millennium Falcon, save for a noticeable error in the opening shot of the scene where the blade is colored green instead of blue).
• A brief shot of Luke's landspeeder as it enters Mos Eisley carrying Luke, Ben Kenobi, and the droids has been redone. The pink tint is removed from the Mos Eisley entrance scene.
• The Han vs. Greedo scene is redone again; this time Greedo and Han shoot at almost exactly the same moment, but Greedo is still fractionally ahead. Han also dodges Greedo's shot more convincingly. Additionally, Han's original line of, "Yes, I'll bet you have" has been restored (the 1997 Special Edition removed the word 'yes') but the shot is slightly shorter.
• A CGI version of Jabba the Hutt, now based on his appearance in The Phantom Menace confronts Han Solo in the scene added to the 1997 re-release. When Han steps on Jabba's body to get to the Falcon, Jabba has a stronger reaction, winding up as if to punch him; in the 1997 Special Edition, he simply yelps in pain. Also, to make Jabba look more convincing, shadows of Han Solo can be seen on his body.
• When the two stormtroopers exit the Millennium Falcon, one of them now says "There's no one here."
• 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 has been redone so it now blinks.
• In the shot where Luke has been pulled under by the Dianoga, Leia's cry of "Luke" has been retimed so its now heard when she mouths it. The original and Special Editions had it heard about a second after she said it. This is only noticeable in the widescreen versions. Leia is panned and scanned out of the full screen edition.
• Visual blaster impacts on Imperial guards have been removed.
• The writing on the Death Star tractor beam control panel originally read 'POWER - TRACTOR BEAM 12 (SEC. N6)' and 'INOPERATIVE'. It has been changed from the Latin alphabet to the standard Star Wars Aurebesh alphabet. The word 'INOPERATIVE' is panned and scanned out of the full screen DVD version.
• The lights in the tractor beam control room are now green.
• An audible bump has been added to the infamous moment where a screen-right stormtrooper bumps his head on the door-frame as the stormtrooper squadron breaks into the control room.
• Luke and Leia's echo when they are trapped in the Death Star chasm is now more convincing.
• The duel between Obi-Wan and Vader features revised lightsaber blades compared to previous versions.
• Following the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan and Vader, as Vader approaches the closing blast doors towards the hangar in which the Millennium Falcon is docked (and Luke is firing at the Stormtroopers), his lightsaber blade is colored red and glowing. In all previous editions of the film, there was no glowing red animation on Vader's blade. Instead, he was seen toting a tapered white tube with a rounded-off tip.
• John Williams' score has been flipped in the left and right rear channels and has been quieted or eliminated from some portions of the Battle of Yavin sequence.
• The "He's on your tail!" line that was added for the 1997 Special Edition has been removed.
• The code cylinders on Grand Moff Tarkin's uniform no longer move up and down between shots.
• The shot of the Y-Wings descending to make the first attack run has been fixed. Originally, the two lead Y-Wings disappeared when their leading edges touched the bottom of the screen while the third one smoothly moved out of frame like it should. Now all three move smoothly out of frame.
• The colors depicting the destruction of the planet Alderaan and the Death Star have been changed.
• When the X-Wings are seen lifting off from the Rebel base before the Death Star battle, the red planet of Yavin is now visible in the upper right of the shot.

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

• In the scene where Darth Vader speaks to the Emperor via hologram, the Emperor is now portrayed by Ian McDiarmid; in the original film and the Special Edition, the Emperor was portrayed by an uncredited actress (Elaine Baker, wife of Rick Baker (makeup artist)) wearing a specially made mask with chimpanzee eyes superimposed over her own, with the voice 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. McDiarmid actually filmed this scene during principal photography of Revenge of the Sith.
• The lines spoken by Boba Fett are now in the voice of Temuera Morrison, the actor who played Jango Fett and the Clone Troopers in Attack of the Clones. The voice was originally provided by Jason Wingreen.
• The line "The first transport is away!", heard over the Echo Base public address system and spoken by Mark Hamill, is no longer pitched-down so as to disguise the fact that it is Hamill's voice.
• Enhancements were made to the shots featuring Cloud City, with additional shots of the following day's landing at the city.
• The pink tint is removed from the initial shot of Cloud City.
• In both the original and 1997 versions, a shadow across Han's chest during the scene in which Han is lowered into the carbon-freezing chamber was erroneously thought to be a wardrobe blooper with him wearing his blue vest. In this release, the dark lighting has been digitally erased.
• When Luke confronts Vader in the carbon-freezing chamber and ignites his lightsaber, the sound from the original release is overlapped in this scene by the sound produced by Luke's new lightsaber in Return of the Jedi.
• The tracked scream of Luke Skywalker introduced in the 1997 re-release, which is heard during Luke's voluntary fall from the Cloud City platform after his duel with Vader, was removed. The track was actually the Emperor's death scream from Return of the Jedi.
• In the original and 1997 versions, 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 supposed 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.

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

• In Anakin Skywalker's final scene, when he is not wearing his helmet, the eyebrows of actor Sebastian Shaw have been digitally removed, corresponding to what happened to Anakin's eyebrows when he got burned on Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith. His eyes have also been changed to blue and minor cosmetic alterations have been made to his face to more closely resemble the Anakin portrayed by Hayden Christensen in the prequel trilogy.

Original scene with Sebastian Shaw as Anakin Skywalker (above), retouched version with Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker (below)

• When Anakin, Yoda, and Obi-Wan appear together in spirit form at the end of the movie, Sebastian Shaw is replaced by Hayden Christensen, showing a young Anakin, when he was still a Jedi, with an old Yoda and Obi-Wan.
• Another scene of celebration, this time on Naboo, is shown after the Empire is defeated. A Gungan, whom many fans assumed to be Jar Jar Binks, can be heard saying "Weesa free!" Nevertheless, Jar Jar is not listed in the Star Wars databank as appearing in Episode VI. The rumor of Jar Jar appearing in the film was officially debunked in an episode of The Force-Cast in which it was revealed that the unnamed Gungan was voiced by assistant sound designer Matthew Wood, who also voiced General Grievous in Revenge of the Sith.
• In the Coruscant celebration scene, the Galactic Senate and Jedi Temple have been added to the background. This indicates that the Jedi Temple was not destroyed during the Great Jedi Purge, thus carrying continuity with media released since Episode III, such as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which depicts a post-purge Jedi Temple.

Note that in each of the 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. The exception is that the format of the ending credits was changed to that 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.

2006 Star Wars Trilogy DVD Box Set

The 2006 re-release of the Trilogy labeled as "Limited Edition" versions was essentially the "Special Edition" versions released in the 2004 Box Set. This release was most noted for the inclusion of a bonus disc for each movie, advertised as the "original theatrical" versions. This is a misnomer, however, since the transfers used are from the 1993 Definitive Collection laserdiscs, although the original theatrical opening scroll (which does not include the "Episode IV A New Hope" subtitle) was spliced back into the original 1977 film for the DVD version. The 1993 audio mixes for the films are retained in the form of Dolby 2.0 (stereo) surround audio tracks, including the various added and missing sounds/dialogues, which are unique to the 1993 mixes. The video transfers were 2.35:1 letterboxed widescreen (non-anamorphic). To add to the keepsake was the inclusion of a Collector's Tin as the box set case.

2011 Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray edition

On August 14, 2010, George Lucas announced that the Star Wars saga would be released as a Blu-ray box set in the third quarter of 2011. The set features all six live-action Star Wars feature films, along with extensive special features. Lucas stated that "There's some really good material that will be included in there, more deleted scenes that you haven't seen yet." One of the deleted scenes is an alternative introduction to Return of the Jedi. At the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, it was announced that the box sets will be released during September 2011. As promised on Starwars.com on May 4, 2011 (the Star Wars Day), the Blu-ray set, entitled Star Wars: The Complete Saga, was released on September 12, 2011 internationally, September 14 in Australia, and on September 16 in North America.

The following is a partial list of changes:

Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Comparison between the puppet of Yoda and the computer-generated model.

• A new blurring effect is used when Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi use Force Speed to escape the droidekas.
• The medium shot of Nute Gunray and Rune Haako observing Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan escaping the droidekas has been replaced with a long shot.
• In a scene with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan discussing Anakin's fate on Coruscant, the sun has brightened from orange to white.
• All scenes with Yoda depicted by a puppet have been replaced with a CG model.

Episode II: Attack of the Clones

• During the night chase on Coruscant the dialogue and speeder scene are slightly rearranged when Anakin and Obi-Wan pass through the power couplings.
• During Anakin's nightmare scene, a voiceover of his mother Shmi has been added.
• After Yoda saves Obi-Wan and Anakin from Dooku's falling pillar, the reaction shots of Yoda and then Anakin and Obi-Wan are moved up before the shots of Dooku escaping on his ship and Padme and the clonetroopers arriving and firing at him.

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

• The scene where Obi-Wan encounters General Grievous on Utapau and the Clone Army arrives has been altered, adding dialogue from the troopers as they land on platform
• The scene transition from Padme's ship to Vader on Mustafar has been changed from a straight cut back to a wipe, restoring the original theatrical release.

Episode IV: A New Hope

• The blue door to R2 and C-3PO's crashed escape pod has been desaturated.
• In the scene where Obi-Wan discovers R2-D2 hiding in an alcove, rocks have been digitally inserted into the frame to hide the droid, though no explanation for him getting behind them or out from behind them is added (in fact, they disappear altogether).
• Obi-Wan's Krayt Dragon call has once again been changed.
• The shot of Han and Greedo firing at each other has been shortened by several frames from the 2004 DVD version so they shoot at nearly the same time.
• Luke's miscolored lightsaber blade during the opening of the training scene aboard the Millennium Falcon from the 2004 DVD has been corrected (though the blade still remains mostly unrevised for the rest of the scene).
• The audio errors during the Battle of Yavin in the 2004 DVD have been corrected.

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

• In the shot when the Wampa mauls Luke's Tauntaun, the puppeteer pole can no longer be seen.
• In an exterior shot of Cloud City featuring Leia waiting for Han in her apartment, a reflection can now be seen in Leia's window.
• The scene when Chewbacca is retrieving C-3PO from the Ugnaughts has the blue light from the furnace recoloured orange and sparks added in the background.

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

• A static long shot of R2-D2 and C-3PO approaching the door to Jabba's palace has been replaced with an extreme long shot revealing more of the door, as the camera zooms in on the droids.
• There are now brighter flashes of light when Han is released from the carbonite.
• A CG Dug has been added to the scene in Jabba's palace which features sleeping partygoers.
• A new closeup shot of Han striking Boba Fett's jetpack has been added.
• The Ewoks' eyes now have CG eyelids, allowing them to blink.
• When R2-D2 is shot by a stormtrooper, additional CG gadgets fly out of his body as he malfunctions.
• The scene where Luke and Darth Vader cross their lightsabers in front of the Emperor's face has been corrected from the 2004 DVD version (where it appeared as if the blades were almost passing through each other). Several other lightsaber errors from the 2004 DVD have also been corrected in this version.
• Darth Vader now says "No" while Luke is tortured by the Emperor's Force Lightning attack, and then immediately screams "Nooooo!" as he picks Palpatine up and hurls him into the Death Star's reactor core. By the way, Darth Vader's "Noooo!" is very laughable and surprisingly weak.

Deleted scenes from Star Wars

This is a partial list of scenes that were not in a film version of the original trilogy or prequels and changes made to deleted scenes. These deleted scenes are included in some home video versions. Some scenes deleted from the original editions of the original trilogy were modified and added back in later versions. For example, a scene where Han Solo talks to Jabba the Hutt was not included in the original theater, laser disc, or home video versions of Star Wars (later renamed Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope), but was modified for the 1997 Special Edition to depict Solo talking to a CGI Jabba that more closely matched later versions of Jabba.

Episode I: The Phantom Menace

• When Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn arrive on the Trade Federation ship, two droids comment on the situation.^{[Note 1]}
• Extended wager scene between Qui-Gon and Watto^{[Note 1]}
• There is an extended fight scene between Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul on Tatooine. As Qui-Gon jumps onto the landing platform of the Naboo ship, Darth Maul swings his blade but misses. Enraged, he then leaps high into the air and lands next to Qui-Gon, who battles Maul briefly before kicking him off the platform. Maul lands on the desert floor and stands up, watching the Nubian ship fly away.^{[Note 1]}
• Originally, Bail Organa was going to appear in the senate scene played by another actor.^{[Note 1]}
• A Naboo soldier informs Padme that the droid control ship is destroyed. In the final film, it is the Gungans who make this discovery.^{[Note 1]}
• Anakin is revealed to be the one who destroyed the droid control ship, to the surprise of the Naboo pilots.^{[Note 1]}

Episode II: Attack of the Clones

• Extended Coruscant speeder chase.^{[Note 1]}
• Extended scene in the Jedi archive where Jocasta tells Obi-wan about Count Dooku.^{[Note 1]}
• Anakin has a nightmare of his mother while on the refugee freighter going to Naboo.^{[Note 1]}
• Anakin has a conversation with Padme's father Ruwee regarding her safety.^{[Note 1]}
• A group of Jedi led by Ki-Adi Mundi and Plo Koon attempt to take over the Droid Command Center on Geonosis.^{[Note 1]}

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

• Extra scenes of bantering between Anakin and Obi-Wan while attempting to rescue Palpatine on the Invisible Hand. Anakin is shown to be capable of imitating R2-D2's "voice".^{[Note 1]}
• Extra scenes of Anakin, Obi-Wan, Palpatine, and R2 attempting to escape from the Invisible Hand.^{[Note 1]}
• An extended scene with Anakin and Palpatine, discussing changes to the Constitution that need to be made in order to give the Supreme Chancellor more power.^{[Note 1]}
• An animatic of an extended chase sequence between Obi-Wan and General Grievous on Utapau, directed by Steven Spielberg.^{[Note 1]}
• Extended order 66 animatics.^{[Note 1]}
• A second death scene for Shaak Ti was shot. This time, she is killed by Vader in the Jedi Temple during Order 66.^{[Note 1]}
• When Obi-Wan and Yoda return to the Jedi Temple after Order 66, they are met by clone troopers disguised as Jedi. In the final film, the clonetroopers are clad in their standard armor.^{[Note 1]}
• The Mustafar fight sequence originally contained a scene in which Obi-Wan and Vader are dueling on the Separatist control room's table. Obi-Wan manages to disarm Vader of his lightsaber temporarily, which is why Vader is seen choking Obi-Wan and trying to force him to cut himself with his own lightsaber in the theatrical version.^{[Note 1]}
• Extended Mustafar lava chase animatics.^{[Note 1]}
• Extended Yoda vs. Sidious animatics.^[1]

Episode IV: A New Hope

• While Luke is working on a moisture vaporator at the Lars homestead, he uses a set of binoculars to look up into the sky when his attention is caught by a few light flashes coming from the sky. Seeing two starships exchanging laser fire in space, he decides to go to tell his friends at Tosche Station. When he runs to his landspeeder, Treadwell, one of the moisture farming droids malfunctions. Luke throws his hands up in frustration and continues to make his way to Anchorhead. Luke visits his friends at Anchorhead. He tells his friends that he saw a space battle (between the Devastator and the blockade runner Tantive IV) with a set of binoculars, but at that point the battle is already over and his friends do not believe him. His friends all head back into the station, leaving Luke outside looking up at the sky. Outside Anchorhead, Biggs and Luke are walking and reminiscing about old times over a couple of drinks. During this conversation, Biggs tells Luke he wants to "jump ship and join the Rebellion." This revelation shocks Luke. Biggs then tries to convince Luke to leave with him, but Luke replies with a series of excuses and ends the conversation in quiet resignation. The two promise to meet again soon. ^{[Note 1]}
• As Luke blasts through Anchorhead with his landspeeder, he nearly knocks over an old lady who raises her fists in protest and yells for everyone to slow down.^{[Note 1]}
• Aunt Beru dispenses some blue milk in the homestead kitchen.^{[Note 1]}
• While searching for a runaway R2-D2, Luke and C-3PO run into engine problems while traveling along the desert. As C-3PO is piloting the landspeeder, he yells out to Luke that he is experiencing a loss of power. Luke then crawls out of the cockpit to the rear of the craft and fixes a damaged circuit, which helps restore power. After a brief exchange of dialogue, the scene cuts away to a radar scanner on the dashboard indicating there is something ahead of them.^{[Note 1]}
• Han and a mysterious woman named Jenny are seen carousing and kissing in the Cantina before the meeting with Obi Wan and Luke. The intent was to give Han the aura of being a ladies' man.^{[Note 1]}
• An alternate take of stormtroopers searching for the droids in Mos Eisley.^{[Note 1]}
• Darth Vader and Chief Bast discuss Grand Moff Tarkin and his ambitions.^{[Note 1]}
• Extended dialogue for Obi-Wan during the duel. This and the preceding scene can be seen in the documentary Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy.
• Biggs and Luke meet again at the Rebel base prior to the Battle of Yavin. Red Squadron leader Garven Dreis asks about Luke's piloting qualifications and discusses his service in the Clone Wars with Luke's father, stating, "I remember your father from when I was a boy. He was one hell of a pilot." The scene was partially restored for the 1997 Special Edition, although most of Garven Dreis's dialogue was omitted.^{[Note 1]}

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

• Extended argument scene between Han and Leia in Echo Base. There is more dialogue between the two after Han says, "You could use a good kiss!"^{[Note 1]}
• A number of Wampas infiltrate the Rebel base and kill at least one tauntaun. An image exists of a medical droid inspecting a tauntaun carcass. The Wampa attack is mentioned and shown in the Marvel Comics adaptation of the movie.^{[Note 1]}
• Extended scene of Luke recovering in the Bacta Tank. Luke speaks while unconscious and the medical droid states that he has been fully healed.^{[Note 1]}
• While Luke is recovering inside a Bacta Tank, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO are in an adjacent room discussing what happened to Luke and the Wampa infiltration.^{[Note 1]}
• Luke is recovering from the Bacta treatment and has his bandage mask removed. He and Leia have an intimate conversation afterwards that lead them toward a kiss but before they are able to do so, R2-D2 and C-3PO enter.^{[Note 1]}
• While travelling through Echo Base's corridors, R2-D2 is attacked by a Wampa. He is rescued and the wampa is killed by Rebel troops.^{[Note 1]}
• Inside Echo Base, Luke mans a laser cannon. Various sites on the internet including starwarz.com show a photo of this scene.
• General Veers is killed when a snowspeeder piloted by Derek "Hobbie" Klivian crashes into his AT-AT Walker cockpit.^{[Note 1]}
• While fleeing Imperial troops, Han suggests they take a shortcut through a room that has a sign on it. Leia tells him "that's where they keep those creatures" (the Wampas, which have been confined to the room). They run off and C-3PO tears off the warning sign, hoping the troops will mistake it for another room. Though never seen in any version of the film, shots of this scene were used in television ads and trailers, and the door is visible in the movie. Two Star Wars video games reference this room: Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire and Star Wars Trilogy Arcade.^{[Note 1]}
• Originally, Luke's training on Dagobah was to include a montage sequences showing Luke's training and pace under master Yoda's watchful eye, from an extended run across the swamps to various force ability exercises and using his Lightsaber against four remotes (hovering Lightsaber training globes from Episode IV). Black and white pictures exist of Luke training with Yoda on his back while practicing with his Lightsaber. A page outlining the montage sequences was seen in the Marvel comic book adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back.
• As a part of his training, Luke attempts to cut a metal rod with his lightsaber which is being levitated by Yoda.^{[Note 1]}
• While the Millennium Falcon is hiding in the giant asteroid, Han and Leia react to explosions that are shaking the ship.^{[Note 1]}
• An alternate version of Han and Leia's kiss, in which Leia kisses Han a second time.^{[Note 1]}
• An alternate version of Han and Leia's dialogue and kiss in Cloud City.
• In the carbon-freezing sequence, C-3PO's complete line would have been "I'm not ready to die on the back of a demented wookiee!" (the italicized words were deleted from all versions of the film, but were heard in their entirety on the Story of The Empire Strikes Back LP).
• A scene involving Lando, Leia, Chewbacca and the droids getting stuck in an elevator during the escape on Cloud City. In this scene, Lando climbs through a trapdoor in the ceiling of the elevator and uses his blaster to release the mechanism holding the elevator in place. The scene where they enter the elevator remains in the movie, yet the scene immediately after shows them appearing around a corner on an entirely different level of the city.
• After Lobot helps Lando to escape, he is captured by stormtroopers.^{[Note 1]}
• During the rescue of Luke from beneath Cloud City, Leia positions the Millennium Falcon underneath Luke just as he lets go of the weather vane. Luke lands heavily on the top of the Falcon and Lando rushes off to bring him inside. Opening the top hatch, Lando attaches a ship cable to his belt and crawls out onto the roof of the Falcon. He sees Luke and grabs him, dragging him back to the safety of the ship as Leia steers the ship away from Cloud City.
• In an extended version of the scene where Leia is tending to an injured Luke on the Millennium Falcon, they discuss Han's fate. Leia mentions Boba Fett by name in the deleted scene. He is never mentioned by name in the final film.^{[Note 1]}

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

• After arriving on the second Death Star, Darth Vader communicates with Luke via the Force while he is assembling his new lightsaber on Tatooine just before R2 and C-3PO travel to Jabba's palace. ^{[Note 1]}
• Just after Jabba tells Leia that she will learn to appreciate him, he pulls her closer and makes her drink from his jug.
• Two of Jabba's minions, Ree Yees and Saelt Marae (Yak Face) get into a confrontation with Salacious Crumb as C-3PO is caught in the middle. Stills of this scene have been found in the photo insert of the novel.
• After Luke falls into the Rancor pit, he force-jumps and grabs hold of the grate before Jawas smash his hands with their rifle butts. Luke then falls into the eye of the Rancor. Stills of this scene exist, as noted in the 1983 official movie storybook.
• Right after Jabba's Sail Barge blows up, Luke, Han, Leia, Lando, and the droids go back to the Millennium Falcon and Luke's X-Wing, both of which are in the middle of a sandstorm. ^{[Note 1]}
• Moff Jerjerrod and two Royal Guards refuse to let Darth Vader in to see the Emperor, so Vader uses his Force-chokehold on Jerjerrod, but does not kill him. ^{[Note 1]}
• Darth Vader lands in the Death Star docking bay with Luke, taking him to the Emperor. This scene was reused in The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition as Vader returns to the Executor. Although Luke cannot be seen, Moff Jerjerrod can be seen mouthing his lines from Return of the Jedi.
• General Madine is coordinating the Rebel fleet just before they jump to hyperspace. Madine's lines are spoken by Admiral Ackbar in the final film.
• The Sullustan Ten Nunb has some scenes of him piloting a B-Wing star fighter, as well as a Mon Calamari and two human female pilots. One of the female pilots appears in the finished film, but with a male voice.^{[Note 1]}
• Extra scenes of Rebel crew members on the Millennium Falcon.^{[Note 1]}
• Additional footage of Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and a squad of Rebel troops engaged in combat with Stormtroopers as they infiltrate the shield generator bunker on Endor. Han reacts incredulously when he is called "Rebel scum." ^{[Note 1]}
• The Emperor commands Jerjerrod to have the Death Star blow up the Endor moon should the Rebels destroy the shield generator. Jerjerrod is reluctant at first but eventually complies.^{[Note 1]}
• When Luke is hiding from Vader in the Throne Room, Luke offers Vader a chance to come and speak with him. Vader rejects the offer saying that he would not give him that kind of advantage. Luke throws his lightsaber to Vader and Vader realizes that he is protecting Leia from Vader. After Vader discovers his feeling, Luke uses the Force to take the lightsaber from Vader. Evidence of this still exists in the final scene. As Vader talks to Luke, he can be seen holding Luke's lightsaber.
• Several scenes of Lando's Rebel flight crew while manning the quad-guns during the battle of Endor exist, as do General Madine's shouts of victory while piloting his cruiser.

Notes:

• Note 1. ^ Available on Star Wars: The Complete Saga 2011 Blu-ray edition.

Future

At a ShoWest convention in 2005, George Lucas demonstrated new technology and stated that he was planning to release all six films in a new 3-D film format, beginning with either A New Hope or The Phantom Menace in 2007. In January 2007, StarWars.com's Questions & Answers section stated that Lucasfilm was busy with other upcoming media such as the Star Wars live-action TV series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and media related to the 30th anniversary of Star Wars.

Following the release of the films on Blu-ray, Lucasfilm went ahead and decided to re-release each film theatrically in 3D beginning with The Phantom Menace on February 17, 2012. Attack of the Clones was originally set for re-release in February 2013, but was moved back to September 2013 followed by Revenge of the Sith in October. On October 30, 2012, Lucasfilm was sold to Walt Disney Pictures, which led to both 3D re-releases of the films along with the original trilogy being postponed to focus on developing Episode VII for 2015.

External links

• DVDActive - A New Hope Differences (including some audio) between versions of A New Hope
• DVDActive - The Empire Strikes Back Differences (including some audio) between versions of The Empire Strikes Back
• DVDActive - Return of the Jedi Differences (including some audio) between versions of Return of the Jedi
• DVDActive - The Prequel Trilogy Differences between versions of the prequel trilogy
• 2011 Blu-ray changes Side-by-side comparisons between versions of the original trilogy