Employing a faster timetable than Lucas' three-year approach, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released a week before Christmas 2015, barely three years after Disney acquired sequel rights in the Lucasfilm transaction. Uniquely qualifying him for the job was Abrams' crowd-pleasing 2009 reboot of the Star Trek film franchise, which drew many comparisons to Star Wars, to the dismay of some of those who had always sided with Trek in the uneven battle of sci-fi institutions. Abrams, who had successfully transitioned from passion-generating ABC television ("Lost") to big budget cinema. Disney's first move upon landing Lucasfilm was to greenlight a seventh episode taking place some thirty years after 1983's threequel Return of the Jedi.Įnlisted on this revival was J.J. Star Wars, though, somehow felt bigger than either of those companies, even considering the tarnish of those prequels and Lucas' curious refusal to stop tinkering with the past.
Having reaped the benefits of Bob Iger's brand-driven philosophy and a blockbuster-or-bust strategy, Disney already had the highly regarded and highly lucrative Marvel and Pixar universes in their stable. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, in the fall of 2012, Disney bought Lucasfilm and all that came with it for $4 billion. After the prequels, Star Wars seemed destined to live on in television animation and a steady stream of merchandise, but no one was really clamoring for Lucas to make good on his long-shared claim of the original trilogy being Episodes IV through VI in a nine-episode saga. So if he felt the need to keep making changes here and there, as he did, he was going to do it and no one could tell him otherwise. In Lucas' mind, Star Wars belonged to him, not the people who made him a multi-billionaire.
Things got worse before they got better, but even the more favorably received Episode III - Revenge of the Sith was not enough to lift this new trilogy to the level of the beloved original one in most fans' eyes.įurthermore, that original trilogy was increasingly rubbing the faithful following the wrong way as the result of Lucas' unwillingness to release it in its original, unaltered form. It performed extremely well at the box office, but the heightened expectations seemed to breed some disappointment from critics and critical moviegoers. Though tough to quantify, it seems as though Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace may have been the most anticipated film ever. The enduring passion extended another two years when Lucas began releasing a new trio of prequels that preceded his iconic trilogy. Only seven new films released that year pulled in more at the North American box office than the original Star Wars. When creator George Lucas reissued the three movies in theaters with tweaks and additions as Special Editions in early 1997, each opened in first place and added significantly to their already substantial returns. Though ostensibly dormant for the next decade and a half, the Star Wars trilogy remained insanely popular through rampant, repeat home video viewings. Its two sequels, released over the next six years, were not as profitable, but still earned more than twice as much as any other film from their years. The original 1977 film redefined the word "blockbuster" with a gross above and beyond anything previously heard of.
Or you can scroll down to find out what's new about this edition.īy many measures, Star Wars is the biggest franchise in the history of cinema. In the event you haven't already read my review of the film for its Blu-ray debut, you can do so now. Having reviewed the film just seven months ago, there seems to be little need for a new viewing and new analysis. It's a good time to be a Star Wars fan and to be creatively involved with adding to the universe George Lucas began building forty years ago. With the franchise fully revitalized, a much-anticipated eighth episode now in post-production, and spin-off film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story just weeks from opening,ĭisney's $4 billion purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012 looks wiser every day. After breaking just about every domestic box office record it could while winning over as many fans (even the lapsed ones) and critics imaginable, Star Wars: The Force Awakens gets revisited eleven months after its theatrical debut in a new four-disc Collector's Edition set that presents the film on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD.
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