Nearly 50 years ago, George Lucas’ first Star Wars movie was simply called Star Wars, and not Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope when it premiered in theaters in 1977. Now, fans of the iconic franchise will be able to see the original cut of Star Wars just as moviegoers did back then. For some, it will be re-living a childhood memory and, for others, it is a chance to see the rare, original cut for the very first time.

Per Collider, the British Film Institute (BFI) will screen Star Wars in its original, rare, unaltered 1977 glory on the opening night of BFI’s Film on Film Festival on June 12. The event will be held at BFI’s Southbank Theater in London. Those in attendance will also be treated to archives and historical material from the movie, which will include deleted scenes and Polaroid pictures taken on the movie’s set.

One of Very Few Original Copies Remaining

The BFI Film on Film Festival screening will feature Star Wars “exactly as experienced by audiences on its original release, screening from one of the precious handful of dye transfer IB Technicolor prints produced for the first British release, preserved in the BFI National archive,” said the BFI in a statement.

Star Wars, later re-titled Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, starred Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, James Earl Jones, Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew and kicked off a franchise that is beloved by millions around the world. The original cut of Star Wars is usually locked in the Jedi Archives and has not been screened in a theater in decades.

The Original Version, Without all the Changes

Nowadays, Lucasfilm and Disney consider the special editions of the Star Wars trilogy, with Lucas’ updates from the late 1990s, as the canonized versions of the movies. Thus, the unedited version of the trilogy’s first iconic film is a rarity, as Lucas has tended to make sure that just the special editions are the only ones available. The changes to the films,which included the addition of CGI to add in characters (i.e., Jabba the Hutt in the original film), were panned by audiences upon the release of the special editions. So, for many fans of the franchise, the rare chance to see the original film as it was originally intended is a rare and special occasion.

Star Wars (1977)

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score	Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score	IMDb Rating
93%	96%	8.6/10

New Jedi Order News

In much more recent Star Wars news, Daisy Ridley’s highly-anticipated Star Wars: New Jedi Order has received an update. The film is expected to start production in 2026, per film scooper Daniel Ritchman. New Jedi Order is the working title of the project that will seeRidley reprise her role as Rey Skywalker and will take place 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. Lucasfilm has reportedly hired George Nolfi (The Bourne Ultimatum) to write the movie’s script.