The Motion Picture director's edition getting a 4K upgrade, plus latest TOS movie and TV bluray releases

Paramount have got some real treats in store for TOS fans and physical media peeps, with new releases of the TOS movies on the way, and the complete TV series. But the biggest most exciting news is...

Two decades after The Motion Picture got a significant facelift in the form of The Director's Edition DVD(ad) release - In which director Robert Wise re-edited the film, including adding several new visual effects shots - Paramount have finally taking the plunge to do the work all over again and produce a 4K release of this much improved version of the movie!

Paramount are expecting the restoration project to take 6-8 months, and the end product will be a 4K Ultra HD release with Dolby Vision high dynamic range and a new Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The final product will initially be available exclusively on Paramount+(ad) (one hopes and assumes home media releases will follow in due course).

The restoration will be undertaken by the original team who worked with the late Robert Wise before; producer David C. Fein, restoration supervisor Mike Matessino, and visual effects supervisor Daren R. Dochterman,

It will be great to see the new visual effects shots like these (care of TrekCore's screencap galleries) in glorious HD:

Meanwhile, Paramount are also releasing new 4K Ultra HD remastered editions of the first four TOS movies in a boxset creatively called Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection(ad) (but where are the other two I hear you yell? More on that below). This will include the original theatrical edition of The Motion Picture, both the theatrical and director's cuts of The Wrath of Khan, and the only editions of both The Search For Spock and The Voyage Home.

They all come in this snazzy character-packed packaging (which is lacking whales in my view):

UPDATE: Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits has shared the back cover now too:

As you can see from the cases, the eight disc set includes a 4K Ultra HD disc for each film, and a separate bluray disc for each film. The 4K discs all have just audio commentaries for extra features, while the bluray discs include a variety of previously released featurettes. Aside from being presented in much higher resolution than previous releases, the set also includes a new 2 channel isolated score for The Motion Picture.

The set will be available in early September in the US, UK, France, and Germany. The four movies will also be offered individually on bluray, but alas not at this point in 4K; so if you want the 4K versions you'll have to get the set. 

UPDATE: The covers for the individual bluray releases have been released now too. Here's the full list of extra features alongside each cover:

Star Trek: The Motion Picture(ad) 

• Isolated score in Dolby 2.0—NEW!
• Commentary by Michael & Denise Okuda, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens and Daren Dochterman
• Library Computer (HD)
• Production
• The Longest Trek: Writing the Motion Picture (HD)
• The Star Trek Universe
• Special Star Trek Reunion (HD)
• Starfleet Academy SCISEC Brief 001: The Mystery Behind V’ger
• Deleted Scenes
• Storyboards
• Trailers (HD)
• TV Spots

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan(ad) 

• Commentary by Director Nicholas Meyer (Director's Cut and Theatrical Version)
• Commentary by Director Nicholas Meyer and Manny Coto (Theatrical Version)
• Text Commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda (Director’s Cut)
• Library Computer (HD)
• Production
• Captain’s Log
• Designing Khan
• Original Interviews with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, and Ricardo Montalbán
• Where No Man Has Gone Before: The Visual Effects of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• James Horner: Composing Genesis (HD)
• The Star Trek Universe
• Collecting Star Trek’s Movie Relics (HD)
• A Novel Approach
• Starfleet Academy SCISEC Brief 002: Mystery Behind Ceti Alpha VI (HD)
• Farewell: A Tribute to Ricardo Montalbán (HD)
• Storyboards
• Theatrical Trailer (HD)

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock(ad) 

• Commentary by director Leonard Nimoy, writer/producer Harve Bennett, director of photography Charles Correll and Robin Curtis                    
• Commentary by Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor
• Library Computer (HD)
• Production
• Captain’s Log
• Terraforming and the Prime Directive
• Industry Light & Magic: The Visual Effects of Star Trek
• Spock: The Early Years (HD)
• The Star Trek Universe
• Space Docks and Birds of Prey
• Speaking Klingon
• Klingon and Vulcan Costumes
• Star Trek and the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (HD)
• Starfleet Academy SCISEC Brief 003: Mystery Behind the Vulcan Katra Transfer
• Photo Gallery
• Production
• The Movie
• Storyboards
• Theatrical Trailer (HD)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home(ad)

• Commentary by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy
• Commentary by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman
• Library Computer (HD)
• Production
• Future’s Past: A Look Back
• On Location
• Dailies Deconstruction
• Below-the-Line: Sound Design
• Pavel Chekov’s Screen Moments (HD)
• The Star Trek Universe
• Time Travel: The Art of the Possible
• The Language of Whales
• A Vulcan Primer
• Kirk’s Women
• The Three-Picture Saga (HD)
• Star Trek for a Cause (HD)
• Starfleet Academy SCISEC Brief 004: The Whale Probe (HD)
• Visual Effects
• From Outer Space to the Ocean
• The Bird of Prey
• Original Interviews
• Leonard Nimoy
• William Shatner
• DeForest Kelley
• Tributes
• Roddenberry Scrapbook
• Featured Artist: Mark Lenard
• Production Gallery
• Storyboards
• Theatrical Trailer (HD)

Now why just the first four films? Well The Digital Bits (a very well informed home media news site) believe this will be a rolling series of releases that will eventually include all the classic Trek movies (the Kelvin movies(ad) are already available on 4K) and expect two further sets to follow; a three-movie set finishing off the TOS-era with The Final Frontier, The Undiscovered Country, and Generations, and another three-movie set featuring the voyages of the Enterprise-E in First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis - Presumably this allows Paramount to start releasing product while they continue work remastering the later films, and lets them releases more sets over time. So maybe makes business sense even if it feels a bit weird to us trekkies.

Finally, also set for September release (in the US, with other markets to follow), is a new complete series collection for Star Trek: The Original Series on bluray(ad). This also comes in eye-catching new packaging, including steelbook cases for each season. Aside from the funky new packaging, this appears to be identical to previous bluray releases of the series.