Analysis: The ‘Noooooo’ heard around the world is still a win for Lucasfilm

Nooo!

So last week, it was leaked, and then substantiated that the Blu-ray edition of Return of the Jedi would contain a change that set the fan world into a buzz: As Palpatine zaps Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader would now say “Nooooooooooooo!” as he decides to shaft the Emperor.

Many fans were taken aback by this change by George Lucas – not only does it feed into one of the most laughed-at lines from Revenge of the Sith, it changes the tone of the scene, from Vader as the silent man of action, to him giving voice to his emotional turmoil. Some fans bemoaned the general state of constant changes with each re-release of the movies, while others felt that it is fine for the creator to update his work to help tie the saga all together. Celebrity fan Simon Pegg called it a “clueless revision” – but was it really clueless? Continue reading “Analysis: The ‘Noooooo’ heard around the world is still a win for Lucasfilm”

Lucasfilm confirms ROTJ Blu-ray change to NYT

As I said on Twitter earlier: Oh dear. Lucasfilm tells The New York Times’ Dave Itzkoff that the Blu-Ray release will indeed contain one of the rumored changes to Return of the Jedi: “Darth says NO.”


Man, this is heavy. Let’s have a laugh. (via)

These types of changes aren’t going to make me hate Star Wars, or go all ranty on it. But I don’t think this improves the films, or adds to the moment in any way. To quote @LaneWinree: “The quiet understatement of that scene is what made it for me. Perfect illustration of ‘show, don’t tell.'”

This is not exactly our first ride on this particular merry-go-round, and I’m not going to not get the Blu-rays, or decry Star Wars and George Lucas entirely. I’m just… disappointed.

But, here’s another handy quote, from @Blankitout: “It shouldn’t be too hard to comprehend that things that aren’t important to you can be important to other people. Respect their feelings.” We’re big fans of respect around here.

Rumor: More changes in the Star Wars Blu-rays?

There have been a few more rumors and possible leaked (or faked) footage from the new Star Wars Blu-rays, mostly Return of the Jedi: A new addition in the the Emperor’s death scene, blinking Ewoks. io9 rounds it up, and even they’re suggesting caution, so take it as you will. We’ll find out soon enough.

UPDATE: Big Shiny Robot has a rebuttal to the rumors. It’s not quite time to panic yet, folks.

UPDATE: Nope. It’s real. Part of it, anyway.