The Motion Picture returning to cinemas and maybe a home video upgrade too

This year is the 40th anniversary of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and there's already plenty in the planning to celebrate. We already knew about plans to reprint Gene Roddenberry's novelisation of the film, and an audiobook edition to match. And now there's news about the film itself coming back to screens big and small:

This September, on the 15th and 18th, Fathom Events will be bring the film back to (select) cinemas in the US - The first nationwide release since the original December 1979 showings. The film will be preceded by a behind the scenes featurette, The Longest Trek: Writing the Motion Picture, which comes from a previous bluray release. Tickets will be available from August 2nd on Fathom's website.

The original theatrical cut will be shown at these events, but meanwhile there's tantalising news that the superb Director's Edition will finally be getting a high res upgrade - It's currently only available on DVD at standard definition. This version of the film has a slightly tweaked edit, and some helpful new visual effects, and of course was shepherded into existence by the director Robert Wise.

Announced at the Inglorious Treksperts podcast panel at the San Diego Comic Con by producer Dave Feinas, and reported by visual effects artist Daren Dochterman, it seems the team that brought that updated version to life are currently in talks with Paramount to make a new 4K edition to the film. TrekMovie spoke to Dochterman after the panel, who revealed it's not quite a done deal yet, but seems promising: "the green light has not yet been given, but it is a yellow light. We have been given permission to talk about it at San Diego Comic-Con". As work hasn't started yet, it's unlikely a new release would come this year, but Dochterman thinks the work could be done in time to get an announcement by the anniversary at least.