By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
If you’re a big fan of Star Wars, chances are you have a subscription to Disney+ so that you can experience all of the content from a galaxy far, far away. Well, almost all: to this day, the House of Mouse has never made the original, non-Special Edition versions of the Original Trilogy available for either physical or digital release to fans. Incredibly, a decades-old version of the first Star Wars movie’s original cut was briefly made available on streaming via Roku’s Cinema Box app, and the fact that it was unceremoniously taken down proves that Disney has become an Empire opposed to the fans who keep the studio in business.
The Star Wars Original Cut Streaming Controversy
When we say this was the Star Wars original cut, we’re talking about the version before the film even received its subtitle, A New Hope. That means the version of the film Cinema Box was airing was from before 1981, when George Lucas first named this Episode IV. This version of the film disappeared when Cinema Box was removed from Roku, but the fact that it took a free third-party app to make the non-Special Edition version of this iconic film proves just how much Disney has been holding out on fans even as they run this franchise into the ground.
At this point, some Star Wars fans (especially younger ones) may question why it’s so important to have the original cuts of these films available, especially since the Special Editions are already available on streaming. One reason, of course, is aesthetics: the later revisions made each film that much uglier…like, just check out that awful CGI music sequence added to Jabba’s Palace. They also effectively ruined some of the best scenes; for example, George Lucas made sure Han Solo no longer shot Greedo first and made Darth Vader repeatedly say “no” while Luke Skywalker was getting zapped by Force Lightning.
The main reason that the Star Wars original cuts should be streaming on Disney+, though, is that these are the versions of these films that an entire generation of fans grew up watching. For reasons that have never been entirely clear, the non-Special Editions of these films have never been available on Blu-Ray or streaming through more official channels. Incredibly, the only way for fans to usually experience these original versions is to pirate them, and because most fans don’t want to break the law and even fewer know where to look, the best version of this legendary sci-fi trilogy may never legitimately be viewed by another fan.
Without going full tinfoil hat on you, we can’t see this as anything other than a petty power move on Disney’s part. Letting us watch the Original Trilogy as intended would have side effects…namely, fans would start to realize just how bad spinoff shows like The Book of Boba Fett and even Obi-Wan Kenobi really are when compared to the franchise at its finest. But by making sure that we can only stream versions of these films filled with bad CGI, terrible edits, and unnecessary dialogue, Disney helps to cover up its ongoing failures with this franchise by implying such flaws were there from the beginning.
Unfortunately, the House of Mouse hasn’t realized that holding back Star Wars’ original cuts from streaming is a bit like Grand Moff Tarkin flexing his power…the more Disney tightens its grip, the more fans slip through their fingers. After the colossal failure of the Sequel Trilogy, the studio should work, first and foremost, on restoring the faith and goodwill of the fandom. But the fact that Cinema Box showed us a version of A New Hope that Disney+ never will is proof that Disney will never make the fans happy and will continue to make warmed-over slop out of sci-fi’s most beloved franchise.
At this point, we have to ask: are they really that surprised we’re not opening our mouths wide and begging for more?
Source: Men’s Journal
