UPDATE: Fox confirms cinema release date for Star Wars 3D

Star Wars on Blu-ray

20th Century Fox has announced that Star Wars: Phantom Menace 3D will be released in cinemas on February 10th 2012.

This will be the first Star Wars film to get the 3D treatment. It's not as yet confirmed as to whether that date will be worldwide or US-only.

None of the films were shot in 3D, unsurprisingly, so they will undergo a conversion process in order to render the films 3D.

More details as and when we get them.

Follow whathifi.com on Twitter.
Join us on Facebook.

Published 29.09.10

LucasFilm has today confirmed that the Star Wars saga will be converted in to 3D and released in cinemas.

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace will be first in line and is expected to be released in 3D in 2012.

According to an announcement on the official Star Wars website, Industrial Light & Magic will be supervising the project, and the process will involve "cutting edge conversion".

John Knoll, Visual Effects Supervisor for Industrial Light & Magic, says: "Getting good results on a stereo conversion is a matter of taking the time and getting it right.

"It takes a critical and artistic eye along with an incredible attention to detail to be successful. It is not something that you can rush if you want to expect good results.

"For Star Wars we will take our time, applying everything we know both aesthetically and technically to bring audiences a fantastic new Star Wars experience."

Follow whathifi.com on Twitter.

Join us on Facebook.

Published 15/08/2010:

George Lucas has finally confirmed that all six Star Wars films will be released worldwide on Blu-ray in the autumn of 2011.

The news came at the Star Wars Celebration V convention in America, where Lucas was interviewed by The Daily Show's Jon Stewart.

Stewart asked Lucas questions submitted from the fan community, and one of the most frequently asked questions submitted online prior to the event was about the saga's release on Blu-Ray.

"I wish I could say it was coming out this year," said Lucas, "but it will come out next year."

The Star Wars Blu-ray Box Set will feature all six live-action feature films, including the Special Edition remastered versions of the original trilogy.

They'll have the highest possible picture and audio presentation, says Lucas, along with extensive special features – including documentaries, vintage behind-the-scenes moments, interviews, retrospectives and never-before-seen footage from the Lucasfilm archives.

Star Wars fans at Celebration V were treated to a glimpse of new bonus material, in the form of a deleted scene from Return of the Jedi.

The scene has long been talked about online – a sequence that depicts Luke Skywalker assembling his new, green-bladed lightsaber prior to infiltrating Jabba the Hutt's palace. After completing the Jedi weapon, Luke stashes it in R2-D2's dome.

The 2011 launch for the Blu-ray discs will mark the 35th anniversary of the release of Episode IV: A New Hope, the first Star Wars film.

Keep checking StarWars.com for more updates.

Follow whathifi.com on Twitter