The Epic Adventure of Star Wars Lives On This September With Exciting New DVD, Videogame and Toy Releases
Available for a Limited Time Beginning Sept. 12, New 2-Disc DVD Sets Include Original Versions of the Star Wars Trilogy as Bonus Feature
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (May 4, 2006) - Star
Wars fans across the galaxy will experience the
excitement and adventure of the Star Wars Trilogy as never
before on Sept. 12, thanks to the premiere of LEGO® Star Wars
II: The Original Trilogy; a new lineup of toys; and an event
they've been asking to see for years: the DVD debuts of the
original versions of the three movies that introduced
audiences to the Star Wars saga.
In response to overwhelming demand from Star Wars fans,
Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
will unveil attractively priced individual two-disc DVD sets
of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, Episode V The Empire
Strikes Back and Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Making these
DVDs truly special is the inclusion, as special bonus
material, of the original versions of the movies as seen in
theaters in 1977, 1980 and 1983, respectively.
Paired with the spectacular digitally restored and
re-mastered movies, these versions will be available on DVD
for a very limited time beginning Sept. 12 (international
release dates will follow on or about the same day). On Dec.
31, the original movies will be returned to the Lucasfilm
Archives. Also included on each two-disc DVD set is
commentary by George Lucas and key cast and crew
members.
"Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told
us that they would love to see and own the original versions
that they remember experiencing in theaters," said Jim Ward,
President of LucasArts and Senior Vice President of Lucasfilm
Ltd. "We returned to the Lucasfilm Archives to search
exhaustively for source material that could be presented on
DVD. This is something that we're very excited to be able to
give to fans in response to their continuing enthusiasm for
Star Wars. Topping it off with a new interactive adventure
makes Sept. 12 a red-letter day for Star Wars fans."
The original versions of the Star Wars Trilogy movies feature
Dolby 2.0 Surround sound, while the digitally restored films
are presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. All three films,
both in their original and restored versions, are
closed-captioned and subtitled in English, French and Spanish
in the U.S. International sound and subtitling specifications
vary by territory. All three films are rated PG by the Motion
Picture Association of America and are rated PG in
Canada.
Also on Sept. 12, LucasArts and TT Games will release LEGO
Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, the action-packed sequel
- filled with tongue-in-cheek humor - to one of the
best-selling videogames of 2005.
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy combines the classic
story of Star Wars with the endless customization of LEGO to
create a wholly unique gaming experience that puts an
unexpectedly comical twist on the Star Wars universe. Players
can "build and battle" their way through the galaxy, reliving
(and sometimes reinventing) favorite moments from the Star
Wars Trilogy.
The epic story, characters and action are all there, and for
the first time players can build and ride their own Star Wars
vehicles, then get on and off of them to explore the
interactive galaxy as envisioned by LEGO. True to the LEGO
experience, players can even customize their own Star Wars
characters: It's the world's first opportunity to discover a
Yodarth, a See-Chewpio or a Princess Obi-Wan Kejawa (or
almost any variation imaginable).
Published by LucasArts and created by TT Games, LEGO Star
Wars II is slated for release across eight platforms: the
Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system from
Microsoft; the Xbox® videogame system from Microsoft; the
PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system; Sony PSP;
Microsoft Windows; Nintendo GameCube; Nintendo
DS; and Nintendo Game Boy® Advance.
"Star Wars remains incredibly popular around the world, and
Sept. 12 brings even more excitement," said Tom Warner,
Senior Director of Marketing for Lucasfilm Ltd. "Fans love
the nostalgia of their first Star Wars experience but are
also eager to see new, original entertainment from Lucasfilm,
and this fall we're bringing them both."
Debuting day-and-date with the individual Star Wars Trilogy
DVDs and LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy are new
lines of licensed Star Wars merchandise and toys. Exciting
new offerings from the popular Star Wars collections of
Hasbro and LEGO will be on shelves, accompanied by TV
advertising in the fall.
The successful Star Wars publishing program, which has seen
more than 70 titles hit the New York Times Best Sellers list,
will see the debut of a new novel, Darth Bane: Path of
Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn, on Oct. 6. This intriguing new
Star Wars adventure is set 1,000 years before Episode IV A
New Hope.
Star Wars fans and movie buffs alike will get a thrill from
the first-ever publication of The Making of Star Wars: A New
Hope in the fall. Both new titles are published by Ballantine
Del Rey.
More than 9,000 pages of information about the Star Wars saga
can be found at http://www.starwars.com.
Lucasfilm Ltd. is one of the world's leading film and
entertainment companies. Founded by George Lucas in 1971, it
is a privately held, fully integrated entertainment company.
In addition to its motion picture and television productions,
the company's global businesses include Industrial Light
& Magic and Skywalker Sound; LucasArts Entertainment;
Lucas Licensing; Lucasfilm Animation; and Lucas Online.
Lucasfilm's feature films have won 19 Oscars and its
television projects have won 12 Emmy Awards.
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC is a subsidiary
of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation
company.
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