Creator of The Mandalorian, Jon Favreau, may have offered up some details on why it is unlikely for Disney to ever release the theatrical versions of the original Star Wars trilogy. Some younger fans may not know the difference, however, any longtime fans of Star Wars will the original trilogy differently from the versions commonly seen recently, which George Lucas released in 1997. From updated CGI, additional scenes, and incorporated prequel elements - only added in 2004, such as Hayden Christensen's Force ghost - the Star Wars Special Editions are likely the most viewed version of the original trilogy in the last few decades.
In an interview with Moovy TV for The Mandalorian season 3, Favreau was asked whether he had enough pull within Lucasfilm to see the theatrical versions of the original Star Wars trilogy released in HD.
"Do you think anybody but us, like the people who grew up with it, would care? That's what I figured out: that the younger people have a whole different perception of what Star Wars is, you know? Each generation... for the millennials it's the prequels, for younger people... sometimes it's The Clone Wars."
With Favreau going on to state that The Mandalorian was an attempt to appeal to both the younger audience with a different perception of Star Wars and the older generation who know the original editions of the Star Wars trilogy, he offers some interesting insight into why Disney probably will not release the original trilogy as they initially were in the 1970s and 80s. Given his current position, he's not likely to have the kind of pull for such a decision, either.
Is Jon Favreau Right About The Original Star Wars Films?
The fact is, Favreau is arguably right about his views on the original Star Wars films. Outside of the generation that grew up with the versions before Lucas' Special Editions, there are not many Star Wars fans that would care about the original cuts. For the generation Favreau alluded to that grew up with the prequels, seeing Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker appearing at the end of Return of the Jedi is a much more meaningful, satisfying moment than Sebastian Shaw, who is only seen as the broken, wounded Anakin in one brief scene of the film.
Similarly, given that entirely new generations are growing up with even more progressive Star Wars TV shows like The Clone Wars or the sequel trilogy, the Special Editions likely appeal to those demographics much more given their "modern" style. The updated CGI and more impressive visuals certainly link to the visual language of the prequels and sequels more than the original theatrical Star Wars films did. But what is perhaps most refreshing is that Favreau, as an older fan familiar with those original versions, knows to keep every generation of Star Wars fans in the forefront of his mind when telling new stories in the galaxy far, far away.
Source: Moovy TV
