The original, unedited version of the first Star Wars movie is currently available on Roku – but what’s going on? George Lucas always considered the original trilogy to be works in progress. He made his first changes to the 1977 Star Wars movie back in 1981, when he added the subтιтle “Episode IV – A New Hope.” Those changes were minor compared to the Star Wars Special Editions, and the versions currently on Disney+ are the result of his final tinkering.

Surprisingly, the original, unedited version of Star Wars – even predating the “Episode IV – A New Hope” subтιтle – is currently available on Roku. A relatively poor-quality upload can be viewed on the Cinema Box app, and it appears to be drawn from the 2006 version that Lucas included as a bonus feature with the Special Editions. ScreenRant is reaching out to Disney and Roku for comment.

Why Did George Lucas Make So Many Changes To The Star Wars Movies?

Lucas’ first alteration – adding A New Hope as a subтιтle – was made because he’d changed his plans for the franchise. Even Lucas had never imagined how successful Star Wars would be, and he added this designation to tell viewers they’d been dropped in halfway through the story – and to make a tacit promise that the rest would one day be told. But this was only the beginning, as viewers realized when Lucas released the Special Editions decades later.

Lucas had never been entirely satisfied with the original trilogy, feeling they were restricted by budgetary constraints and the technology of the day. He intended the Special Editions to “fix” these issues, and he also made subtle narrative changes – most infamously, the “Han sH๏τ first” scene in A New Hope. Lucas offered fans a bone by releasing the original versions as 2006 bonus features, but the uploads were poor quality.

Why Aren’t The Original Star Wars Movies On Disney+?

Disney is unlikely to release the original Star Wars movies, in large part out of respect for Lucas himself; he considered the films to be his property, his vision, and the changes to be necessary to realize that vision. More recently, Lucasfilm’s Jon Favreau has argued that not enough people want to see them anyway. According to Favreau, modern audiences have a different relationship with Star Wars, and wouldn’t be interested in the originals. This makes A New Hope‘s availability on Roku all the more eyebrow-raising.