Lucasfilm has announced the release of the original theatrical versions of the first Star Wars trilogy on DVD on September 12th.  The three films will appear just as they did in their original runs in theaters--Star Wars in 1977, The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983.  Star Wars creator George Lucas digitally worked over the films for a 20th Anniversary theatrical run in 1997 and tweaked them again for their 2004 DVD release -- the 2004 DVD versions will be included along with the original theatrical versions in the new 2-disk sets, which will only be available from September 12th to December 31st.

Fans have been clamoring for a the original versions because of the changes that Lucas made, the most significant of which was to the shootout in the Mos Eisley cantina between Han Solo and the bounty hunter Greedo.  In the original 1977 version Solo, who is seated at a table, silently unholsters his blaster while Greedo is threatening him and shoots the bounty hunter dead without warning.  In the later version Lucas has Greedo shoot first.

This fall in addition to the new/old Star Wars DVDs there will be a new wave of Star Wars merchandise including the video game LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, which combines the classic story of Star Wars with the endless customization of LEGO to create a new and different gaming experience.  LEGO and Hasbro will also debut new Star Wars toy collections in the fall and Ballantine will release a new novel, Darth Bane: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn, which  is set 1,000 years before Episode IV A New Hope, as well as the first ever publication of the behind-the-scenes chronicle, The Making of Star Wars: A New Hope.