Access Hollywood spoke with George Lucas at a Golden Globes party, and Lucas has confirmed his intent to re-release the Star Wars films in 3-D. What convinced him to do it? Take a wild guess. Avatar.

Lucas told Access Hollywood:

Haven’t been a big fan of 3-D, but [Avatar] definitely improves in (the field of) 3-D. ... We've been looking for years and years and years of trying to take Star Wars and put it in 3-D. ... But, [the] technology hasn't been there. We've been struggling with it, but I think this will be a new impetus to make that happen.

It is doubtless that many will view this move purely as a money (not art) -driven endeavor. However, if Lucas does indeed implement 3-D similar to the way it was done in Avatar, the aesthetics of the films should indeed be enhanced rather than transformed into a gimmick. Avatar's 3-D worked so well because it wasn't used to try to trick your body into thinking it was going to be hit by things; it was used only to create a natural depth. If the Star Wars films can emulate that, there is essentially nothing to lose.

However, there is one frightening possibility, noted by Devindra Hardawar of /Film. Hardawar makes the point that "it’s not the move to 3-D that worries me, it’s the potential for Lucas to go in and edit even more of the original trilogy." This is a definite possibility. However, it would seem that Lucas has already made all the changes he wants, so there might not be too much to worry about in that respect.

In fact, my hope (against all logic) is that he'll fix the Han/Greedo scene and change it back to its original "Han shot first" form. Of all the changes Lucas made, it would seem this one was the most disliked by fans (with the Hayden Christensen Return of the Jedi insertion running a close second). Maybe he'll have a change of heart and do us a favor.

You listening, George?