Star Wars fans already griping about the upcoming Star Wars blu-rays have another reason to despise George Lucas. News has been released that in the climatic confrontation in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (ROTJ), Darth Vader now yells out “Nooo” twice during the scene where he turns against the Emperor.  Observant fans will note that in this Youtube clip the audio is probably lifted from Vader’s dialogue in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (the infamous “Noo” that the dark lord shouts when he learns he supposedly killed his wife).

Further tweaks done to the trilogies are basic minor clean ups. For instance a puppeteer’s arm is removed very briefly seen at the end of a furry wampa’s arm from Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, another example is that the lightsaber graphics have touch ups. Another more major change is that the Yoda puppet in Episode I: The Phantom Menace has been replaced by a CG model. There are also numerous audio changes throughout the films, one includes a different sounding krayt dragon call made by Ben Kenobi to ward off the Sandpeople in Episode IV: A New Hope. And it doesn’t stop there, all we know for now is to expect more “surprises” according to spokespeople from Lucasfilm. However, so far these changes aren’t as drastic as previous changes were, plus fans will be entreated to new deleted footage for the blu-rays.

But at this point, one has to wonder when will Lucas be satisfied with his finished product? Apparently never. As new technologies arrive the temptation to go back and fix the two trilogies could result in new reasons to triple or quadruple dip and buy new editions. Frankly, it’s doubtful that next month’s releases will be the final word. With the upcoming 3D re-releases of the Star Wars films, it’s likely that once 3D TV and blu-rays become more common that 3D versions of the films will be up for sale. And what better way to sweeten the pie than to offer more “surprises?” Which in the end makes one wonder if all this is just for financial gain.

The only recourse for purists is to either not buy anymore releases and just be content with their old VHS, DVDs and bootlegs or suck it up and buy the new editions. If the former is done in enough numbers then perhaps Lucas will heed the right kind of “Noooo” and the cycle of buying multiple copies of the films will stop. Honestly, if Lucas wants to make changes, how about re-doing the whole Ewok thing? Or phasing out Hayden Christensen with a better actor? Hey Lucas replaced a spectral older version of Anakin in ROTJ with Christensen.

Lewis T. Grove