Star Wars saga to go 3-D in new release

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LOS ANGELES: George Lucas' cult sci-fi saga Star Wars is being reworked for re-release in three dimensions starting in 2012, Lucas Films announced Wednesday.

"There are few movies that lend themselves more perfectly to 3D," the company said in a statement. It said "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" would be first out with the conversion being done by Industrial Light and Magic. No date was immediately set.

The entire intergalactic saga -- with six blockbusters filmed between 1977 and 2005 -- has netted more than 4.3 billion dollars worldwide.

"Getting good results on a stereo conversion is a matter of taking the time and getting it right," said John Knoll, visual effects supervisor for Industrial Light & Magic.

It takes a critical and artistic eye along with an incredible attention to detail to be successful. It is not something that you can rush if you want to expect good results," Knoll said.

"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," he added.

Hollywood media have reported that the other films will be re-released in 3-D at the rate of one each year. Fox will be distributing.