It’s been in the pipeline for quite sometime; the Blu-rays are due to be released later this year, and we all know how much creator George Lucas loves to milk his favourite cash cow; so it should come as no surprise that Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox have finally announced a theatrical release date for Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.
Believing that the exotic setting of the Star Wars movies (being set in “a galaxy far, far away” and populated with numerous aliens) makes for perfect 3D viewing, the plan is to release the first episode in the six film series next February; and depending on how its received, release each subsequent movie roughly a year later (after they’ve been converted to 3D of course).
The Phantom Menace does have some undeniably spectacular sequences that could work brilliantly in 3D (the Podraces being one of the standout moments), but as it’s widely regarded as the most disappointing movie in the series (due in no small part to the inclusion of the mildly irritating Jar Jar Binks) there’s no guarantee it’ll be a massive success at the Box Office this time around (especially with the terrible name Clash of the Titans gave to post-production 3D conversions).
And while the plan currently stands to release the subsequent films in consecutive years, in roughly the same calendar period, there’s no saying that a high enough return this time around wouldn’t convince Lucasfilm and Fox to shift those release dates into their highly lucrative summer blockbuster slot; meaning all eyes will be resting on the Box Office results of The Phantom Menace, which will is being released on February 10th 2012.
