In honor of Star Wars day, LucasFilm has announced that the legendary series will be released stateside on Blu-ray on September 16 (internationally it will hit shelves September 12). A countdown for the country of your choice is now available here, and when the long-awaited day arrives, you can buy The Complete Saga (all six movies) or the original trilogy on its own. It’s worth mentioning you can pick up the prequels separately as well (but would you?).
And since today is May the Fourth (be with you), the announcement is more than just a press release. LucasFilm is offering fans a sneak peak at the footage we’ll all be privy to come September – but only if you give in to the powers of social media. Once the montage of classic scenes, sketches, and behind-the-camera looks nears completion, a notice pops up urging you to share the site via Facebook and Twitter. Only then will you get to see the rest. Unfortunately, Star Wars being the phenomena that it is, the links to share the video aren’t working possibly due to the rush of too many people. By the way, a quick look at how the video is being shared globally shows Australia taking a strong lead (the country has time difference working in its favor).
Hopefully the site will be working properly soon, as it promises your shares will reveal more and says to “Come back throughout the day to see new images as they are revealed.” While you’re waiting for the site’s fix, there’s a short “Feel the Force” promo on YouTube that you can add as a favorite to encourage LucasFilm to pony up the additional content. From the sounds of it, there will be extended commentaries and documentaries along with the Blu-ray release. Here’s hoping fanatics get busy virally spreading the video for a look. Now we just have to sit tight until the 2012 3D release…
