Rumor Control: The Original, Uncut STAR WARS Trilogy Is NOT Coming To Blu-Ray

Last week, the folks over at Making Star Wars dropped a bombshell: according to their sources, Disney was planning to release uncut version of the original Star Wars trilogy later this year, in celebration of the franchise's 40th anniversary. 

Yesterday, we got an update on that bombshell. Here's the news via The Digital Bits:

We’ve essentially confirmed that Disney’s current 4K scan of the film is the most recent revised version (essentially the latest “special edition”), not the original theatrical edition. What’s more, Disney’s director of Library Restoration and Preservation, Theo Gluck, held a special event at Ohio State University’s Wexner Center for the Arts last night, a presentation called Animation Restoration at Walt Disney Studios. Gluck was asked there about Star Wars and reported that the original cut negative for the film currently exists in its “SE” configuration only.

In addition to the statement made by Disney's Theo Gluck, 20th Century Fox’s Senior Vice President of Library and Technical Services, Shawn Belston (who was also on-hand at the event), added that the original "trims" removed from the OT negatives do still exist, which means that the original, pre-Special Edition cuts of the original Star Wars trilogy still could be assembled, should the powers-that-be decide they want to release them. That's in addition to the original prints that presumably continue to exist in private collections around the world.

In other words: it doesn't sound like we're getting the original cuts of the Star Wars trilogy on Blu-ray later this year, but hope is not lost. We're just going to be waiting a bit longer. My best guess? They're holding off until this new Star Wars trilogy is completed, and maybe after that we'll see all nine films released in an ungodly-expensive boxed set. That's just me spitballing, but it seems like a reasonable guess.

Anyway. As you were, folks. Sounds like we've got a ways to go on this one.