To put it frankly: George Lucas’ modifications to Star Wars throughout the years have generally been less than stellar, such as the blinking Ewoks or Greedo shooting first. However, it’s worth noting that not every alteration he made post-release was a negative. In fact, there are even some changes that could be argued as enhancing the original films. Although devotees of the original trilogy may cherish the practical models and puppets from the productions, few would stand by the poor quality of the bluescreen compositing in all instances.
In every instance where a digital Ewok or Hayden Christensen’s Force ghost was added to “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi”, there is a less conspicuous adjustment that ultimately enhances the film. To clarify, we’re not proposing any post-release modifications, but since Disney isn’t planning to undo any of the Special Edition changes in the near future, let’s acknowledge the top ten improvements George Lucas made to his Star Wars saga.
1) Building a Better Wampa – Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
George Lucas started revising the Special Editions in 1997, opting to keep changes in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ minimal as it is generally considered a nearly flawless sequel. However, no masterpiece is without flaws, and even dedicated fans of the original trilogy would acknowledge that the initial Hoth wampa could have been improved upon. The creature was only shown briefly and in close-ups due to the filmmakers’ dissatisfaction with its costume.
As a passionate movie enthusiast, I must say that the 1997 re-release of “Empire” left me quite impressed with the addition of a fresh wampa creature in the film. The new wampa significantly amplified its screen presence, making it appear as a formidable threat to Luke Skywalker. Unlike other Special Edition additions, this one resonated, perhaps because George Lucas opted for a more traditional approach by shooting live-action footage of an actor in an enhanced wampa costume. Sometimes, the classic methods just seem to deliver the best results.
2) Changing English to Aurebesh – Star Wars: A New Hope
Originally, in the 1977 release of “Star Wars: A New Hope,” the words around the Death Star’s tractor beam were written in English as no alien script was created at Lucasfilm yet. Later, before the film’s 2004 DVD release, an authentic Star Wars alphabet called Aurebesh was developed and used frequently on screen. Therefore, it was logical for George Lucas to convert the English text in “A New Hope” into the more fitting Aurebesh when the movie transitioned from analog home video to digital.
3) Fixing Matte Lines, Luke vs. Rancor – Return of the Jedi
In comparison to practical effects, computer-generated visual effects (VFX) excel at blending flawlessly into scenes. Unfortunately, some composite VFX shots in the original Star Wars trilogy had flaws such as transparencies or visible outlines, like the thick black lines around the rancor in Return of the Jedi’s Luke Skywalker scene. To enhance its appearance for the DVD release, George Lucas chose to eliminate these matte lines digitally from the rancor, creating a more convincing effect.
4) Swapping Out Puppet Yoda for CGI – The Phantom Menace
In most instances, we’d opt for puppets over CGI. However, the Yoda puppet from the initial 1999 release of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is an exception where CGI seems more suitable. It’s unclear what George Lucas was envisioning when he approved the Yoda puppet for Phantom Menace, but it’s quite unsettling and bears little resemblance to its earlier counterpart. Fortunately, Lucas switched to a far superior digital model of Yoda for the following prequels.
2011 saw the saga being released on Blu-ray, at which point George Lucas wisely opted to substitute the original Yoda puppet from The Phantom Menace with the one used in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.
5) The Return of Biggs Darklighter – A New Hope
In the vast expanse of the galaxy, Biggs Darklighter stood out as Luke Skywalker’s closest confidant and the one who initially informed Luke about the Rebel Alliance’s existence. Initially, Biggs was featured in numerous scenes across A New Hope, such as the notorious Tosche Station, but for reasons that only George Lucas can clarify, he was mostly omitted from the movie’s final version. However, when Lucas was preparing his Special Edition cut of A New Hope, it seems there was a change of plans, and he re-added a scene where Luke and Biggs briefly reunite on Yavin 4 prior to the Death Star assault.
Including that small scene featuring the Battle of Yavin added an additional emotional dimension to it. Watching the Rebel pilots, whom Luke had just recently met, perish was already heart-wrenching, but witnessing his longtime friend succumb to the Empire’s cruelty at the end truly solidified Luke’s newfound commitment to the Rebellion.
6) Opening Up Cloud City – The Empire Strikes Back
In an unfortunate turn of events, the iconic design for Cloud City, skillfully crafted by renowned Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie, was scarcely featured in the initial release of “Empire Strikes Back.” Apart from a few matte paintings when the Millennium Falcon initially lands on Bespin, most scenes within Empire taking place at Cloud City were filmed on set without windows. However, for the Special Edition of Empire, George Lucas employed the latest digital effects available in 1997 to expand Cloud City and alleviate its somewhat claustrophobic atmosphere.
Among the changes, we incorporated installing windows into various hallways and also integrated fresh outdoor footage that magnificently portrays the aerial cityscape.
7) Lightsaber Maintenance – The Original Trilogy
In the original Star Wars trilogy, the appearance of the lightsabers fluctuated noticeably due to imperfect rotoscoping, peculiar camera perspectives, and inconsistent color grading, causing the laser blades to shift hues and vary thickness across scenes. However, since the release of the Special Editions, George Lucas has made repeated adjustments to the trilogy’s lightsabers over the years, aiming for a sleeker design that aligns better with the prequels.
In the 2019 4K streaming version of the Star Wars saga, the lightsabers from the original trilogy have never appeared more stunning, despite a few frames that might seem odd.
8) Luke and Wedge Hug it Out – Return of the Jedi
George Lucas’s alterations to the ending of “Return of the Jedi” over time have sparked quite a bit of debate, let’s put it that way. One change, however, elicited more “Awwws” than “Ewwws,” and that’s the brief scene of Luke Skywalker embracing Wedge Antilles. Despite having limited screen time, Wedge stands out as the only rebel pilot other than Luke who survived the original trilogy intact. It seems fitting to incorporate a scene where one of the main characters recognizes Wedge’s significant role in the Rebellion, which leads us to wonder why this particular shot was initially removed from “Jedi.
9) Canonizing The Outrider – A New Hope
Since Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise in 2012, there’s been ongoing debate within the community about whether the Expanded Universe is considered canon. The discussion often revolves around what George Lucas regarded as canonical, and despite his comments both supporting and criticizing the EU, the Special Edition of “Star Wars: A New Hope” suggests that he viewed games like “Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire” as an integral part of the Star Wars saga.
When Lucas was assembling his revised edition of “A New Hope”, he deliberately added a shot digitally of Dash Rendar’s ship, The Outrider, departing Mos Eisley. Although the Disney era has largely prevented Shadows of the Empire from being reinstated within canon, thanks to George Lucas, Dash and The Outrider will forever be an integral aspect of Star Wars.
10) Adding Episode Numbers and Subtitles – A New Hope
It might surprise younger viewers, but George Lucas made adjustments to Star Wars much earlier than the Special Editions. Way back in a city called Los Angeles, the original Star Wars movie, simply titled Star Wars, was initially shown. The “Episode IV: A New Hope” title wasn’t added until 1981 when the film was re-released after the success of The Empire Strikes Back. However, it was assigning an episode number to the first film that truly laid the foundation for the Star Wars saga we’re familiar with today.
George Lucas, by renaming Star Wars as Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope, signified to the audience that what they cherished, the film that sparked within them the urge to mimic spaceship sounds, was merely a part of something more expansive. By appending an episode and title to the initial Star Wars production, Lucas communicated to fans that, in essence, they were embarking on their initial steps into a broader universe, similar to what Obi-Wan Kenobi might say.
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2025-05-17 04:42