Apparently, the monumental success and technological achievements of Avatar have pushed Lucas along in the conversion to stereoscopic. After last years Golden Globes, he told Access Hollywood that he was interested in the format.

"Haven't been a big fan of 3D," Lucas said, "but [Avatar] definitely improves [in the field of] 3D...we've been looking for years and years and years of trying to take Star Wars and put it in 3D. 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."

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Please be sure to read our other articles, Five Times the Resolution of 1080p - 4K and the Digital Cinema Standard, 3D Is Exciting But Not Appropriate For All Films, and The ABCs of 3D: Key Terms You Need to Know. You can also find more information in our Movie News and 3D HDTV sections. You can find the LAT Hero Complex article here.

Industrial Light and Magic will be handling the conversion. John Knoll, ILM visual effects supervisor, has commented that this isn't going to be one of the awful rush job conversions. They are planning to take their time with the process.

"Getting good results on a stereo conversion is a matter of taking time and getting it right," Knoll said in a statement. "It takes a critical and artistic eye along with an incredible attention to detail to be successful. It is not something you want to 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."

And take their time they will. The first installment, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace won't be out until 2012, with one to followed with a new installment annually.