Source: StarWars.com | Posted By: Dan Geer

Just when Star Wars fans everywhere rejoiced at Celebration V when George Lucas announced that the Star Wars saga is coming to Blu-ray in Fall 2011, we get even more to wet our appetites with the official announcement of a theatrical release of all six films in 3D after years and years of speculation. That’s right folks – all six films in 3D coming to a theater near you starting in 2012!

If you are like me, and worry about a 2D film being converted to 3D (since it usually doesn’t turn out nearly as good as a film already shot in 3D), John Knoll, Visual Effects Supervisor for Industrial Light & Magic, had this to say on the matter:

“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. 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.”

In the end, the issue is about time. You cannot just rush a 3D conversion, like what was done with this year’s remake of Clash of the Titans. It takes talented people with a generous amount of time give to them to create a great 3D conversion – which is exactly what the guys over at ILM now have.

Currently, The Phantom Menace is the only film officially announced for 2012. It is expected that, if The Phantom Menace in 3D is a financial success, the remaining five films will then be released annually in numerical order. Stay tuned as more official details emerge.

Head on over to StarWars.com for the rest of the annoucement, as well as a video from John Knoll discussing 3D Stereo conversion!