Luc SkyBomba
I put the D in RICHARSON
this pic needs lens flare!
But assuming Disney wanted to invest the time and effort into such a release, is it actually possible? Do the original Episodes IV-VI exist in a restorable state, or is the oft-repeated story that they were "destroyed" during the editing of the 1997 Special Edition re-releases actually true? And even if a restoration is actually possible, would Disney be able to do the work and release the movies under the terms of its existing Star Wars license?
It turns out that these two questions both have complicated answers. The quick spoiler versions are "almost certainly yes" and "no, at least not for now," but the long answers require going down a number of different rabbit holes. Strap in, because we’re about to make the jump to light speed.
Michael Heilemann has assembled an extensive and impressive Kitbashed cut of "Star Wars" as well an e-book in progress, offering a wealth of material and analysis. We get a bit of bio on Lucas as well as the history of the many threads that intertwined to eventually reveal the deceptively simple tale of a young man who just wanted to pick up some power converters at the nearby Tosche Station. It's well worth a read and a viewing, though it is currently a work in progress, with Heilemann stating simply "It's done when it's done." In the meantime, he promises an "exhaustive analysis of the sources of inspiration that led to the creation of Star Wars, covering everything from Lucas's earliest student films, European cinema of the time, westerns (American and Italian), samurai films, war films, comic books, artists, composers, and so on and so forth, up to and including the release of the film that changed the world."