The "first print" of Star Wars just screened for the first time in decades: "There's so much tinkering that's gone on over the years [...] and then everybody kind of lost track of what it was"

The first print of the original Star Wars has just screened for the first time since the '90s, and Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy was in attendance to talk about the moment.

"I'm here to… make sure you don't think this is an illegal screening," Kennedy joked on stage at the event, which took place as part of the BFI Film on Film Festival in London.

"It's incredible folklore," she added. "I have to say that even when I came into the company, there was endless conversation about where everything was, and what was in fact the first print? And it's quite remarkable, what you're going to see is in fact the first print, and I'm not even sure there's another one quite like it. It's that rare. There's so much tinkering that's gone on over the years, and things that George [Lucas] decided, 'I'm gonna change this, I'm gonna try that.' And then, everybody kind of lost track of what it was."

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"In these very special screenings, we present the film exactly as experienced by audiences on its original 1977 release," says the BFI website of the event. "Screening from one of the precious handful of dye transfer IB Technicolor prints produced uniquely for the first British release, and preserved in the BFI National Archive, this has some of the wear that comes with an archive print, but its colour is gloriously unfaded. Truly unmissable."

Lucas replaced the original version of the trilogy with the special editions in the '90s, and the theatrical versions are not available on streaming or in wide release. Changes to the first movie infamously include having Greedo shoot first rather than Han Solo, as well as a scene involving Jabba the Hutt in Mos Eisley spacesport.

Next up for Star Wars is The Mandalorian & Grogu, which arrives in theaters next May 22. Ahsoka season 2 is also expected next year, though there's no release date just yet.

In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows.