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.