Changes

==Special Editions==

==Special Editions==

In recent years, Star Wars has become infamous for it's re-releases, as well as edits to the film that have been met with heavy criticism from fans.  In 1997, in honor of the 20th anniversary of ''A New Hope'', the Original Trilogy was released in theaters, with a film being released each month from January to March.  Later that year, the trilogy was released on VHS.  It was during this release of the original films that the alterations began.  Some of the most infamous changes include Greedo proceeding to shoot first and missing despite being inches away from Han before Han shot him when originally, Han Solo shot first (Lucas when discussing this particular change would later claim to the Hollywood Reporter that it was "always Greedo shooting first" and that they just did closeups and that they went back to the original intention to dissuade any notions that Han was a "cold blooded killer"<ref>http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/george-lucas-star-wars-interview-288523</ref> despite Han shooting first being mentioned in a shooting script<ref>http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/scifi/george-lucas-claims-han-shot-stupid-liar.html</ref>), as well as Jabba the Hutt being added to ''A New Hope'', which was created from a deleted scene in which Jabba was played by an actor.  The same scene also included a cameo from Boba Fett, who first appeared in ''The Empire Strikes Back''.  Out of the 1997 re-releases, ''The Empire Strikes Back'' received the least amount of changes, with the most significant being different angles in the wampa cave on Hoth.  Another was Luke's scream when falling after the duel with Darth Vader.  The scream was actually used for the Emperor when he is thrown down the Death Star by Darth Vader in ''Return of the Jedi.''  In ''Return of the Jedi'', the music from Jabba's palace was changed, as was the ending of the film.  The scarlacc scene was altered as well, with a CGI beak being added.  The original ending featured the song called "Yub Nub", with just the celebration on Endor.  The 1997 version would feature a new song, simply called "Victory Celebration," which has a more tribal sound that Yub Nub.  Scenes were added featuring celebrations occurring on Bespin, Tatooine, and Coruscant, even though ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' was still two years away from release.

In recent years, ''Star Wars'' has become infamous for its re-releases, as well as edits to the film that have been met with heavy criticism from fans.  In 1997, in honor of the 20th anniversary of ''A New Hope'', the Original Trilogy was released in theaters, with a film being released each month from January to March.  Later that year, the trilogy was released on VHS.  It was during this release of the original films that the alterations began.  Some of the most infamous changes include Greedo proceeding to shoot first and missing despite being inches away from Han before Han shot him when originally, Han Solo shot first (Lucas, when discussing this particular change, would later claim to the Hollywood Reporter that it was "always Greedo shooting first" and that they just did closeups and that they went back to the original intention to dissuade any notions that Han was a "cold blooded killer"<ref>http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/george-lucas-star-wars-interview-288523</ref> despite Han shooting first being mentioned in a shooting script<ref>http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/scifi/george-lucas-claims-han-shot-stupid-liar.html</ref>), as well as Jabba the Hutt being added to ''A New Hope'', which was created from a deleted scene in which Jabba was played by an actor.  The same scene also included a cameo from Boba Fett, who first appeared in ''The Empire Strikes Back''.  Out of the 1997 re-releases, ''The Empire Strikes Back'' received the least amount of changes, with the most significant being different angles in the wampa cave on Hoth.  Another was Luke's scream when falling after the duel with Darth Vader.  The scream was actually used for Emperor Palpatine when he is thrown down the Death Star by Darth Vader in ''Return of the Jedi.''  In ''Return of the Jedi'', the music from Jabba's palace was changed, as was the ending of the film.  The sarlacc scene was altered as well, with a CGI beak being added.  The original ending featured the song called "Yub Nub", with just the celebration on Endor.  The 1997 version would feature a new song, simply called "Victory Celebration," which has a more tribal sound than "Yub Nub".  Scenes were added featuring celebrations occurring on Bespin, Tatooine, and Coruscant following Palpatine's downfall, even though ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' was still two years away from release.

In 2004, the Original Trilogy was released on DVD for the first time, eight months before the release of ''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith''.  These releases featured even more changes.  In ''A New Hope'', Jabba's appearance was altered to look more like he did in ''Return of the Jedi''.  In ''The Empire Strikes Back'', the scene in which Darth Vader talks to the Emperor was altered.  Elaine Baker, who played the Emperor, and Clive Revill, who provided the voice, were replaced with Ian McDiarmid.  McDiarmid played the Emperor in ''Return of the Jedi'' as well as the Prequel Trilogy.  The way the Emperor looks in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' is similar to his appearance in ''Revenge of the Sith''.  The voice of Boba Fett was also changed.  Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett in ''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones'', provided the voice.  Out of the three original films, ''Return of the Jedi'' has the most notorious changes.  The first was the inclusion of Naboo in the ending, as well as a Gungan saying "Wesa Free!"  The second was Sebastian Shaw, the actor who played Anakin Skywalker as a force ghost being edited out and replaced with Hayden Christensen.  The reason being that he "died as a jedi" in ''Revenge of the Sith'', hence why he looks the same.

In 2004, the Original Trilogy was released on DVD for the first time, eight months before the release of ''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith''.  These releases featured even more changes.  In ''A New Hope'', Jabba's appearance was altered to look more like he did in ''Return of the Jedi''.  In ''The Empire Strikes Back'', the scene in which Darth Vader talks to Palpatine was altered.  Elaine Baker, who played the Emperor, and Clive Revill, who provided the voice, were replaced with Ian McDiarmid.  McDiarmid played Palpatine in ''Return of the Jedi'' as well as the Prequel Trilogy.  The way the Emperor looks in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' is similar to his appearance in ''Revenge of the Sith''.  The voice of Boba Fett was also changed.  Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett in ''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones'', provided the voice.  Out of the three original films, ''Return of the Jedi'' has the most notorious changes.  The first was the inclusion of a celebration scene on Naboo in the ending following Palpatine's death, as well as a Gungan saying "Wesa Free!" in the background. The second was Sebastian Shaw, the actor who played Anakin Skywalker as a force ghost being edited out from the Endor celebration scene and replaced with Hayden Christensen.  The reason provided for the change was that he "died as a Jedi" in ''Revenge of the Sith'', hence why he looks the same.

2011 saw the entire saga released on Blu-Ray.  Like the 2004 releases, these films also had significant changes.  In ''A New Hope'', rock were included in the small cave that R2-D2 was hiding in when they were found by Obi-Wan Kenobi.  Like 2004, ''Return of the Jedi'', once again, had the most talked about changes.  The first was that the eyes of the Ewoks could now blink.  The second, and most controversial, was when Darth Vader screamed "No!" right before throwing the Emperor down the Death Star shaft.  This set also saw on alteration to the Prequel Trilogy.  In ''The Phantom Menace'', the puppet Yoda was replaced with a CGI model used in ''Attack of the Clones'' and ''Revenge of the Sith''.

2011 saw the entire saga released on Blu-Ray.  Like the 2004 releases, these films also had significant changes.  In ''A New Hope'', rock were included in the small cave that R2-D2 was hiding in when they were found by Obi-Wan Kenobi.  Like 2004, ''Return of the Jedi'', once again, had the most talked about changes.  The first was that the eyes of the Ewoks could now blink.  The second, and most controversial, was when Darth Vader screamed "No!" right before throwing the Emperor down the Death Star shaft.  This set also saw an alteration to the Prequel Trilogy.  In ''The Phantom Menace'', the puppet Yoda was replaced with a CGI model used in ''Attack of the Clones'' and ''Revenge of the Sith''.

When Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, many fans hoped this would mean a release of the Original Unaltered Trilogy.  However, the rights to ''A New Hope'' permanently belong to 20th Century Fox, while the rights to the Prequel Trilogy, ''The Empire Strikes Back'', and ''Return of the Jedi'' revert to Disney in the year 2020.

When Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, many fans hoped this would mean a release of the Original Unaltered Trilogy.  However, the rights to ''A New Hope'' permanently belong to 20th Century Fox, while the rights to the Prequel Trilogy, ''The Empire Strikes Back'', and ''Return of the Jedi'' revert to Disney in the year 2020.