If you can't locate your Darth Maul costume, this might be a good time to start looking for it. The Empire is coming. The dreaded Death Star will be approaching your Blu-ray player on September 16, 2011. The Star Wars saga on Blu-ray was announced months ago, and retailers have been kicking around dates in September, much to the consternation of fans across the universe, but now it's official.
LucasFilm has been rather tight-lipped about the precise contents of the 9-disc set; all we really know is that there will be close to 30 hours of bonus material, including deleted and never-before-seen footage as well as access to the Star Wars archive. Thankfully, LucasFilm is not splitting the 6 films across 12 Blu-ray discs; which seems to be a growing trend. Lucas is busy getting the 3D versions of the saga ready for release starting in 2012 and has even announced who is going to do the 3D work for them.
We suspect that Lucas is going to drag this out, releasing technical information about the releases in bits and pieces. With the Lord of the Rings Extended Edition on Blu-ray less than three months away, we think the Storm Troopers at the Skywalker Ranch are acting rather draconian with all of this secrecy.
The 2011 NFL regular season is scheduled to begin on September 8, but a lock-out by the Emperor looks likely and that's going to leave a lot of HDTVs dark on Sunday afternoon. Why not have a Super Star Wars Sunday party instead?
Three collections of the Star Wars films will be available on Blu-ray: the Prequel Trilogy (MSRP: $69.99), the Original Trilogy (MSRP: $69.99) and the Complete Saga (MSRP: $139.99). All three sets can already be pre-ordered on Amazon for well below these list prices.
One thing we can confirm; there will not be a fold-out Princess Leia in Jabba's throne room picture inside the box sets. That would have come in handy on a cold Hoth night stuck inside a Tauntan's belly. No imagination, George.
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