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‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ Sets Its 50th Anniversary Theatrical Return Date

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Twentieth Century-Fox / Lucasfilm

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‘Star Wars’ is about to turn 50, and Lucasfilm is planning a big celebration. In December 2025, the studio announced that a restoration of the unaltered original film would return to theaters to mark the anniversary. Lucasfilm calls the re-release part of its yearlong 50th anniversary celebration.

Fans had been waiting for this kind of milestone. The newly restored version of the 1977 film will be its first theatrical run since 1997. Dave Filoni has made it clear that it won’t be one of the later Special Editions, but the original 1977 version.

Now Variety has shared the full details of how audiences can see it. ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ returns to theaters on February 19, 2027, in a range of formats, including IMAX 70mm for the first time, along with digital IMAX, 70mm, 35mm and 4DX. A new anniversary poster shows the Death Star looming over Luke, Leia, Han and Chewbacca, with X-wings and TIE fighters streaking across the sky.

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The IMAX release is especially significant. An abbreviated cut of ‘Attack of the Clones’ briefly played on IMAX screens in 2002, and the sequel trilogy films were available in IMAX from 2015 onward. The original 1977 ‘Star Wars,’ which got the subtitle ‘A New Hope’ in 1981, has never been released in IMAX before.

The restored film will play at a select number of IMAX 70mm locations and in other select theaters for a limited time. That puts the original ‘Star Wars’ in the same premium format as ‘The Odyssey,’ ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Dune.’

The format has been doing very well lately. According to Deadline, IMAX 70mm locations have delivered a record $78 million in global box office this year. Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ helped drive that demand over the summer.

The original film isn’t the only ‘Star Wars’ title coming to IMAX 70mm. Shawn Levy’s ‘Star Wars: Starfighter,’ starring Ryan Gosling, will also get the format when it opens on May 28, 2027.

The timing is deliberate. ‘A New Hope’ was first released on May 25, 1977, so ‘Starfighter’ lands on the same weekend 50 years later, which Levy highlighted at D23. ‘Starfighter’ was filmed with IMAX-certified cameras and converted to IMAX 70mm for select prints.

The theatrical runs are just part of the celebration. Star Wars Celebration will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center from April 1 to 4, 2027, and is serving as the official kickoff of the anniversary year.

More is on the way across the franchise. A Hasbro representative said Lucasfilm has partnered with many companies for the anniversary, and that fans should expect a wave of products, collaborations and events focused heavily on the original trilogy.

The anniversary comes at an important time for the studio. Some outlets have described the anniversary and ‘Starfighter’ as Lucasfilm’s big swing after ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ disappointed at the box office.

For longtime fans, though, the main appeal is simple. It’s a chance to see the 1977 original on the big screen again, and for many younger viewers, it will be their first time seeing it in a theater.

Will you be watching the original ‘Star Wars’ in theaters for its 50th anniversary?

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