In case you haven't been following along, this is the third week in our series of Star Wars Wednesday features leading up to the highly anticipated Blu-ray release. We've previously heard from Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) and Billy Dee Williams , now we've got some specifics on the releases themselves, direct from the folks at Lucasfilm.

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IGN was one of a handful of outlets invited to the offices of Lucasfilm to get a first-hand look at the upcoming box sets. A couple of stormtroopers were there to greet us as we arrived at the Letterman Digital Arts Center, situated in a peaceful, wooded area that was once a part of San Francisco's Presidio. Upstairs, a continental breakfast awaited, but the pastries sat mostly untouched, as most of the journalists there were huddled around two side-by-side HD TV sets at the other end of the conference room.One screen was showing the gorgeous high definition version The Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back , while the other displayed the special-features menu, just waiting to be explored. Naturally, we dove right into the deleted and extended scenes. We can't spoil those for you ahead of time, so we'll just say that they include some legendary footage that will delight and surprise even the most hardcore fans. It's not all in great shape after all these years, but just to be able to see the new material is a real treat.After a tour of some of the treasures on display – relics of various ILM projects and replicas from the Star Wars films – we were ushered into a theater by our hosts and our ever-present stormtrooper escorts. There, we saw a presentation from Lucasfilm's Senior Director of Marketing Kayleen Walters that went into even more detail on the restoration process and the special features. She was followed by Dennis Muren, now the Creative Director of Industrial Light & Magic but originally an effects designer going back to A New Hope. Between the two of them, some of the concerns fans have had about the Blu-rays were put to rest. Not all, of course, but some.Before you head to the comments to ask, yes, Greedo still shoots first in this version (although you may still see an original version of that scene in the set – hint, hint). If you're hoping for a release of the original trilogy as you saw it in theaters back in the day, brace yourself for disappointment. Lucas has altered the film to be what he originally intended, so he's not about to go back to the previous version (even if some fans remember it more fondly). We've heard that he even made some minor changes in this new Blu-ray version (though we don't have any specifics, or even know the extent of the changes). You can go ahead and argue about it if you want, but that would be missing the bigger picture here (literally). The technical quality of this new release is beyond any version you've ever seen or heard before. If you can get past the nostalgia factor and enjoy the films for what they are now, there's a lot to be excited about.Those who were disappointed by some of the technical flaws in the latest remastering, back in 2004, should be pleased to note that more extensive work has been done, and undone, for this edition. Several issues from the original trilogy have been fixed, including correction of blemishes, warping on some images, dirt removal and elimination of more matte lines. One big complaint about the 2004 restoration was the uneven color timing, especially noticeable in the lightsabers, which lost some of their former white-hot core and appeared dimmer. Now they've been brightened up and are more true to the original.The artists even fixed some of the minor production glitches, like the visible puppeteer pole in the Wampa scene. Below you can see the difference between the original version and the repaired one.Even the prequel trilogy benefitted from the remastering process. When the DVD versions were created back in 1999, the film image was magnified and some of the picture was lost, about eight percent to be exact. For the Blu-ray, they went back to the original digital files, so every frame appears as it did in the film version. Maybe better, since they went through frame by frame to ensure a cleaner, crisper picture.There's also been much talk of the CG Yoda that will replace the practical puppet version in Phantom Menace. There are arguments to be made on both sides. The digital version is more expressive and more detailed than the puppet, but lacks a certain warm quality the original had.Whatever your feelings on the tweaks Lucas has made to his films throughout the years, there's not much to complain about when it comes to the look and sound of the latest HD edition. It's safe to say that this will be the best looking and best sounding version of the films ever released.We'll have more on our visit to Lucasfilm soon, including an in-depth look at the special features, our visit with Muren and a truly impressive sound demonstration from audio engineer Matthew Wood of Skywalker Sound. So stay tuned!May the Blu Be with You