Lucas Is @#$%ing with the Star Wars Films Again (Maybe [Probably (Almost Certainly)]))

?I know, I know, this is hardly the most shocking of news. Well, let’s get the good bit out of the way: the upcoming Star Wars Blu-rays will feature some corrected lightsabers in A New Hope, a few other things (like the visible puppeteer’s arm in the wampa scene) fixed, and some other technically stuff. Now for the shit you knew was coming (from The Digital Bits):

Once again, George has apparently added a few new “surprises” into these
films. I don’t know what they are and didn’t get to see any of them on
Friday, but I was assured that there will be “new things to notice” when
we watch the films. I think we can safely assume that one of them will
be the new all-digital Yoda in Episode I. Way back when Episode III was
released on DVD, ILM digital effects supervisor Pablo Helman confirmed
to me that the puppet Yoda in Episode I was replaced with a digital
version to better match his appearance in Episodes II and III. In fact,
the Episode III DVD extras includes a clip of the Episode I digital
Yoda. However, this Blu-ray set is really the first opportunity we’ll
have to see it in full.

First of all, I’m actually for the creepy Yoda puppet from Episode 1 getting replaced with a digital Yoda —
generally, I’m all for puppets over CG, but the Episode 1 Yoda puppet
was terrible, and I think having one consistent Yoda for the prequel trilogy is
the lesser of two evils here. Second, if it’s any consolation, Bleeding Cool refuted the article, saying Lucasfilm told them there were no changes… but I trust Digital Bits over Bleeding Cool; plus, just because Lucasfilm denies it now hardly means it isn’t true. I mean, when you weigh Lucasfilm’s denial with, oh, everything George Lucas has done over the last 15 years, I think you realize the odds of some “surprises” showing up in the original trilogy are pretty damned high. (Via /Film)