Right on the heels of the American Graffiti Blu-ray announcement comes word from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox that the 3D theatrical launch of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace now has an official release date – February 10, 2012.
The official press release about the release date was brief, but went as far as to admit that the meticulous conversion, as supervised by Industrial Light and Magic, is being done with utmost respect for the source material, and with a keen eye for both technological considerations and artistic intentions.
“Artistic intentions” meaning that we can expect George Lucas to tweak scenes once again, because he can never leave things alone. Unless that means the removal of Jar Jar Binks from scenes, be it ever so brief, then there may be those who are going to go Peter Finch/Network at the entire Star Wars universe.
With its February 10th release, The Phantom Menace will be matched against Safe House, a Universal Pictures thriller starring Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington, and The Vow, a Screen Gems release with Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum.
