As the premiere for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker draws closer, director J.J. Abrams has opened up about his desire to see the original cuts of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi released.
The last official piece of physical media to contain the theatrical cuts of Episodes IV-VI was the 1995 THX VHS box-set. Since then, fans have been at a loss trying to find the original cuts to watch and/or show to those who’ve never seen them before.
Talking to NowThis, Abrams explained that he tried asking Lucasfilm about the possibility of an original cut release, but hit a bit of a brick wall. “I’ve been told that, for reasons that I quite don’t understand, that that’s not necessarily possible,” he said.
Source: IGN.com Star Wars: J.J. Abrams Wants the Theatrical Cuts of the Original Trilogy Released