The perfect time for someone to whip out one of these faux real lightsabers would be the unwrapping of the Blu-ray version of "Star Wars." At Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, FL, that was the big news that George Lucas gave the crowd: that all six live-action "Star Wars" films will be released in 2011 on Blu-ray for the first time.
For those who have been forecasting the death of the optical disc, this alone could keep it alive for a while, no? There have been many pundits who say its only a matter of time (including us), what with the growth of streaming video. On the other hand, as we have also said, with bandwidth caps expected to become the norm across ISPs at some time in the future, who knows?
The press release that followed the announcement gave an approximate timeframe: Fall 2011. 2011 is the 35th Anniversary of the original film, now renamed "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope." Additionally, it said:
The Star Wars Blu-ray Box Set will feature all six live-action Star Wars feature films utilizing the highest possible picture and audio presentation, along with extensive special features – including documentaries, vintage behind-the-scenes moments, interviews, retrospectives and never-before-seen footage from the Lucasfilm archives.
In addition to the Blu-ray announcement, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill joined Lucas onstage to debut a scene that had been cut from the "Return of the Jedi" episode.
The scene has long been discussed online. It shows Luke Skywalker assembling a new, green-bladed lightsaber prior to infiltrating Jabba the Hutt's palace. You'll recall that's the lightsaber that popped out of R2-D2's head when Jabba took Han and Luke to feed them to the Sarlacc.
Watch the scene, and the crowd reaction in the sidebar.
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