The white whale of any Star Wars fan—besides my dream Ahsoka Tano video game—is an unmodified release of the original Star Wars trilogy. Forget the special editions, forget the even-specialier editions. Many of us, from film buffs to preservationists to shameless, Prequel-hating nerds, want to see the films as they were originally presented in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

JJ Abrams, direct of two of the three Star Wars mainline sequels, wants that, too. And, according to a short interview courtesy of Now This News, we know that he has, in fact, asked the higher-ups at Lucasfilm about the possibility, in the hopes of leveraging his role in the film series to preserve the beloved legacy of the films. And, well, in short, they said no.

“Yes,” he said, when asked about wanting to see the original films released in their theatrical versions commercially. “Because, I mean, who wouldn’t want to see that? But I’ve been told that, for reasons that I don’t quite understand, that that’s not necessarily possible. Which, you know, is too bad because that was the thing that I loved.”

The reason for that inability is unclear. There are rumors that original cuts don’t exist anymore. Or maybe George Lucas requested they not be released when he sold the property. Or maybe they’re frozen in carbonite, lost in a derelict palace in the desert of Tatooine.

Too bad. There’s only one thing to say in situations like this: “Maclunkey!”

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