Star Wars original vs Special Edition: the 1977 cut returns to theaters in February — here's everything it doesn't have

Star Wars, written and directed by Lucas, opened on May 25, 1977, in 32 theaters. On February 19, 2027, Lucasfilm will put a newly restored version of that original theatrical cut on thousands of screens worldwide for the film's 50th anniversary. It will play in IMAX 70mm, Digital IMAX, standard digital, 70mm, 35mm, 4DX and D-BOX. Ticket sales haven't opened yet.

Lucasfilm has confirmed this is not the 1997 Special Edition, the 2004 DVD, the 2011 Blu-ray or the 2019 Disney+ version. It's the movie as it played in 1977, and Dave Filoni repeated that from the D23 stage on August 14, 2026.

Why this is a big deal

Lucas started revising his own film with the 1981 re-release and never really stopped. The 1997 Special Edition was the big overhaul, and each home-video generation after it brought another round. In 1995, the original trilogy came out on VHS advertised as the final release of the theatrical versions, and for the next three decades that's more or less how it worked.

Lucas made his position plain in 2004:

"I'm sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it."

That position reached as far as the Library of Congress. In 1989, the 1977 cut was among the first 25 films added to the National Film Registry. As of 2014, the Library still had no copy it could screen, because Lucas wouldn't submit the original.

In 2025, a Technicolor print played at the BFI's Film on Film Festival in London, the first public screening of the theatrical cut since 1978. In December 2025, Lucasfilm, owned by Disney since 2012, announced the anniversary release.

What the 1977 cut doesn't have

Here's what disappears when the original version plays, and when each addition arrived:

• "Episode IV – A New Hope" — the opening crawl starts with just the story. The episode number and subtitle were added for the 1981 re-release.
• Greedo shooting first — in 1977, Han fires and Greedo doesn't. In 1997, Greedo got a shot off first and missed. In 2004 they fired almost simultaneously. The 2019 Disney+ version added a close-up of Greedo saying an untranslated line fans know as "maclunkey."
• Jabba in the docking bay — the 1997 Special Edition restored a deleted scene with a CGI Jabba, including Han stepping on his tail. In 1977, Jabba is just a name.
• The busy Mos Eisley — the CGI creatures, droids and ships crowding the streets, and the moving CGI dewback, all came in 1997.
• Biggs on Yavin 4 — Luke's reunion with his old friend before the battle was cut in 1977 and restored in 1997.
• The ring-shaped shockwaves — added to the Alderaan and Death Star explosions in 1997.
• The CGI X-wing turn — two flyby shots were replaced with a computer-generated 180-degree turn in 1997.
• The rocks around R2-D2 — the 2011 Blu-ray inserted boulders in front of the spot where R2 hides from the Jawas.
• Obi-Wan's new scream — the sound he makes to scare off the Tusken Raiders was changed in 2004 and changed again in 2011.

The restored version also brings back things later editions quietly tidied up. The stormtrooper who bonks his head on a door frame does it in silence, since the sound effect that made it look deliberate wasn't added until 2004. And in the Millennium Falcon training scene, Luke's lightsaber looks green, as it did before the 2011 Blu-ray recolored it blue.

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What comes after it

The 1977 cut opens Lucasfilm's anniversary year. Star Wars: Starfighter, Shawn Levy's film with Ryan Gosling, follows on May 28, 2027, and it will also play in IMAX 70mm.

The new movie was shot for IMAX. The old one wasn't, and this will be its first time on an IMAX screen.

Previously we wrote: How did they make The Lord of the Rings? Aragorn's most famous scream wasn't acting