According to the Hollywood Reporter, Lucasfilm is planning to release the original Star Wars Trilogy in a four-disk DVD box set on September 21.  The September release should allow the Star Wars set to be one of the first big time DVD releases of what should be a very crowded fall season.  Thanks to the holidays, the fourth quarter has become primetime for major DVD releases, especially box sets.  Lucasfilm and Fox have no current plans to release the three original Star Wars films individually.

The Star Wars Trilogy box set will include the original Star Wars as well as The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, plus a fourth disk, which will include a new Star Wars documentary as well as never-before-seen footage and other bonus items.  Each of the films has been digitally restored and remastered by THX for both sound and picture quality.  Jim Ward, Lucasfilm's VP of Marketing and Distribution, told the Hollywood Reporter, 'First and foremost, the DVDs will deliver the very best possible sound and picture and take advantage of everything that the medium can offer.  On top of that we are creating added-value material that gets inside the creation of the Star Wars films in a fresh and fun way.  We want watching this DVD collection to be as memorable as seeing the movies for the first time.'  

Unlike the E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial and the recently released Aliens DVDs which feature the original release version of the films as well as later 'director's editions,' the Star Wars Trilogy DVDs reportedly only feature the 1997 'Special Edition' reworkings of the original trilogy releases.  Perhaps Lucasfilm is allowing for the possibility of a future 'collector's edition,' which will include the original release versions of the three groundbreaking science fiction blockbusters as well as the 'Special Edition' versions.

While the Star Wars Trilogy DVD Box Set will undoubtedly be heavily discounted in the mass market upon release, independent pop culture retailers may be able to compete after the initial sales are over.  Demand should stretch through the holidays and may well extend up to the release of Star Wars: Episode III on May 25, 2005.  Certainly the enormous publicity campaign that Lucasfilm will mount to push the DVD release of the original trilogy will help get the property back in the spotlight and should help sales of Star Wars comics, trading cards, action figures, the CCG, and the new CMG, which debuts in August (see 'Wizards To Do Star Wars CMG').  Fox Home Video has not yet released the price of DVD trilogy.  Look for pricing and a full account of the bonus features on ICv2 when this information is available.