It may only be weeks until the entire Star Wars saga is released on Blu-ray, but Fox has just announced via a release schedule that Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace will be released to Australian cinemas in 3D on 9 February 2012.
The first of the George Lucas helmed prequels to the original Star Wars Trilogy of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi gets a very brief description in the official press: “Two Jedi knights uncover a wider conflict when they are sent as emissaries to the blockaded planet Naboo”.
The 3D conversion was first announced back in September last year, and while we are curious about “our” Star Wars being converted, the prequels make the most sense given the heavy reliance on digital special effects. Originally released back in 1999, the film met with mixed critical and fan reaction but made a ton at the box-office regardless. It stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid and a digital puppet named Jar Jar.
Post-converted re-releases may be all the rage next year, as this joins Fox’s planned Titanic 3D re-issue supervised by James Cameron.
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is released on 9 February 2012 in Australia from Fox.
