Official: Star Wars 3D coming out in 2012

George Lucas has announced that he is to re-re-release the entire Star Wars saga in the cinema in 3D.

Breaking the news on the official Star Wars website, the statement read: "There are few movies that lend themselves more perfectly to 3D; from the Death Star trench run to the Tatooine Podrace, the Star Wars saga has always delivered an entertainment experience that is completely immersive.

"Presented by Twentieth Century Fox and Lucasfilm Ltd, the cutting-edge conversion will take that immersion to the next thrilling level, with Industrial Light & Magic supervising the project."

Unfortunately, the first three prequels have somehow managed to be included in the 3D conversion, which means that the first Star Wars film to be released in 3D will be Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace in 2012.

Critical and artistic eye

There is no word whether R2D2 and C3P0 are getting their names changed to R3D3 and C3DP0, but John Knoll, visual effects supervisor for Industrial Light & Magic did say about the conversions: "Getting good results on a stereo conversion is a matter of taking the time and getting it right.

"It takes a critical and artistic eye along with an incredible attention to detail to be successful."

Hopefully it won't be Lucas overseeing the conversion process, then, as he was severely lacking a "critical and artistic eye" when he made Episodes I-III.

"For Star Wars we will take our time, applying everything we know both aesthetically and technically to bring audiences a fantastic new Star Wars experience," continued Knoll.

So, there you have it. Rumour and conjecture have turned into cold, hard fact. Star Wars will be made into 3D in 2012.

That sound you can hear is a cash cow being milked once more.