"Star Wars" 3D is Not the End of "Star Wars"

Oh, the teeth-gnashing and the hair-pulling from the "Star Wars" fandom! Oh, the wails and lamentations from the geekiest corners of the internet! The announcement last week that George Lucas and friends are going to re-release the "Star Wars" films converted to 3D over the next few years has sent many a loyal fanboy into paroxysms of despair. Admittedly it's hard to see this move as anything but another attempt to wring more dollars out of the "Star Wars" faithful. But really, by this point what did they expect?

The beloved "Star Wars" franchise, which played no small part in creating the summer blockbuster culture, has followed almost every media trend and cash-in opportunity available. It's been multiple cartoons, a Christmas special, a theme park ride, TV movies, special edition directors cuts, and metric tons of merchandise that lesser sci-fi franchises can only dream of. With the rise of 3D as the latest moviegoing fad, of course George Lucas was going to jump on it. He loves shiny, new, gee-whiz, technological advancements like this, and must have been itching to bring it to the "Star Wars" universe since "Avatar" hit the theaters last year. I'm more surprised at James Cameron announcing that he'll be using a similar conversion process on "Titanic," a period disaster film where 3D would be useless for the bulk of its running length.

The real issue may be whether it's actually going to be profitable to go through with the scheme. Box office analysts have been warning for months that the 3D trend is already seeing declines, and the conversion process isn't going to be cheap. Lucasilm has laid out a schedule that would see the release of one film per year in a 3D format, starting with the prequel films. This makes sense, as the more recent installments of "Star Wars" relied far more heavily on digital effects and would be easier to convert than the older films from the 70s and 80s. Unfortunately the prequels are disliked by much of the older "Star Wars" fandom, especially "The Phantom Menace," which will be first in line to get a 3D version. Lucasfilm will be looking at its performance to decide whether or not to proceed with converting the other five movies.

But who knows? Maybe the 3D technology will have improved by 2012, the projected re-release date for "Phantom's" big 3D debut. Lucasfilm and ILM might be able to do something with the format that we haven't seen before and buck the trend. Maybe thirteen years will have been enough time for the younger fans to start waxing nostalgic for the prequels and start pushing back against all the hate. Or maybe the film's backers will figure out how to sell it to yet another generation of kids who aren't familiar with all the fandom history and drama. Yes, 3D is a gimmick, but it's a gimmick that might help to ensure that "Star Wars" endures after the current generation of fans is gone. By the time the original "Star Wars" returns to the big screen, it will have been nearly forty years since its debut. If the original fans aren't feeling their age yet, they soon will be.

Finally, the fact that 3D versions exist won't alter the original films or their place in cinema history. Well, any more than George Lucas has already altered them with the Special Editions. Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" had a 3D version that few people know about, and it's still considered a suspense classic. A few critics even thought the 3D version was an improvement of the original, after it was resurrected for a successful run a few years ago. If Hitchcock can work in 3D, there's no reason why "Star Wars" can't. I have to admit that some of those big space battles would be awfully fun to watch with the ships and asteroids popping out of the screen at the audience. Just think of the famous opening shot of the original "Star Wars" with a little added depth. If Lucas can do it right, it sure would be something worth seeing.

Then again, the man responsible for Jar Jar Binks could also screw this up in so many different ways, and I understand why some exasperated fans no longer want to give him the benefit of the doubt. And I'll also echo the commonly expressed sentiment that all this time and energy spent retrofitting the older films would be better spent on creating new "Star Wars" content. The recently quashed live-action television series would have been a good place to start. That sequel trilogy Lucas used to talk about would be nice too. Some part of me wonders if the new 3D re-releases might be meant to generate funds for a new, secret, "Star Wars" project that Lucas has planned for the future. It's probably wishful thinking, but here's another thought. Even if Lucas doesn't want to continue the franchise, it's gotten so big and been so successful, eventually somebody will.

3D "Star Wars" may ensure there's still an interested audience when the time comes.