We knew the Star Wars saga would be released on Blu-ray sooner or later, and months ago we were told that Lucasfilm were working on it. At Celebration V today in an interview between George Lucas and Jon Stewart it was announced that the Saga would be coming to Blu-ray in the Autumn of 2011 (that's the Fall for you Americans). I think probably the biggest news for the Blu-ray release is not that it will be better quality video and sound but that it will also include many special features such as deleted scenes.
Star Wars fans were treated to a glimpse of bonus material, in the form of a long-lost deleted scene from Return of the Jedi. The scene has long been talked about online -- a sequence that depicts Luke Skywalker assembling his new, green-bladed lightsaber prior to infiltrating Jabba the Hutt's palace. After completing the Jedi weapon, Luke stashes it in R2-D2's dome. What makes the Jedi deleted clip so remarkable is that it made it all the way to postproduction before it was cut, so it is a rare example of a cut scene with completed visual effects and music.
I never realised this particular scene had been filmed so it will be amazing to see this on Blu-ray. I would expect other deleted scenes (which are viewable on YouTube) such as the sandstorm scene would also be available. Hopefully this will also include the deleted scenes from A New Hope such as the scene with Biggs, Camie, and Fixer.
Over the next year we should be provided with more details about these release but I think one of the big questions will be what version of the film will feature on these discs and whether it will include other versions as well. Personally I'd prefer to see a release containing each of the main versions (theatrical, remastered, special edition and DVD versions).
