Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill in Star Wars.
Image courtesy Lucasfilm/Disney.

2027 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of the space adventure that started it all: Star Wars, and as you might expect, there are already plans to commemorate the anniversary in a way that will increase Disney’s revenue stream.

Lucasfilm and Disney are rereleasing the original 1977 theatrical version of Star Wars in theaters for its 50th anniversary on February 17th, 2027. Though it will be a restored version of the film, it won’t have any of the rejiggering George Lucas did to his film after its initial release.

George Lucas began altering the original film once the sequels were released, adding the A New Hope subtitle, episode numbers, and retouched effects as early as 1981 for Star Wars‘ initial re-release. In 1997, Lucas reworked the entire trilogy, adding digital effects and deleted scenes. This edition has been the basis for all subsequent re-releases.

It’s not known yet whether the restored but unedited 1977 version will be released in IMAX theaters, but at an IMAX investor presentation in October, Lucasfilm announced that plans were already in place to have an IMAX screening celebrating the 50th anniversary, so it’s possible.

This won’t be the first time the 1977 version was screened; earlier this year, a Technicolor print was screened at the British Film Institute’s Film on Film Festival. It was the first time the original theatrical cut had screened publicly since Star Wars ended its initial theatrical run in 1978. In less than two years, though, everyone will have a chance to compare and contrast the very first version of the movie to all subsequent cuts.