10 Times Star Wars Gave Fans What Wanted (and They Hated It)

Despite how revolutionary Star Wars was, George Lucas genuinely felt like the initial trilogy was incomplete. Because he couldn't depict the visuals he wanted due to limitations of the time, he always intended to rerelease Episode IV-VI with updated special effects in the future.

So, when the Special Editions were first announced, fans were thrilled since the VFX in the original trilogy, which were once ahead of their time, were dated by modern standards. Lucas also used this opportunity to fix audio mixing, colour timing, include unseen scenes, and throw in an extra shot of Boba Fett for good measure.

But overall, these revisions were met with unbridled scorn. Although the minor visual tweaks were greatly appreciated, many additional effects were jarring, unnecessary, cringey. Some revisions like the infamous "Han Shot First" scene actually changed how key characters were depicted.

It gets worse. Not only did Lucas release more Special Editions with further alterations, he stopped releasing the original films altogether. Because of this, there was no legal way to buy the theatrical cut of the first three movies. The Special Editions were supposed to enhance the Star Wars experience, but instead, took the original experience away from us.