Star Wars is coming to Blu-ray Disc Sept. 16 as a nine-disc set called “The Complete Saga” with 40-plus hours of bonus features, including some previously unseen materials and new documentaries. Overseas markets get a four-day jump on North America with the latest iteration of the franchise being introduced on Sept. 12 internationally.

The announcement comes just two weeks before Star Tours: The Adventure Continues in 3D attraction will open at Disney Hollywood Studios in Florida on May 20 and the Blu-ray release bonus features will be teased in a this fall will come just months before the first chapter in the Star Wars series in 3D will be re-released theatrically in 2012, the first of all six films to get the 3D treatment. The Blu-ray bonus features will be teased for the first time in July at San Diego Comic-Con during Lucasfilm’s 35th anniversary at the fan fest.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment president Mike Dunn says the latest home release on a new format (not in 3D) proves that the Blu-ray format has come of age since George Lucas of Lucasfilm would not have approved the release until the high-def format achieved mainstream status.
<Story continues below the following video featuring audio of Dunn’s comments in a media briefing.>

In a media gathering at Panasonic Hollywood Labs and Innovation Center at Universal City in Los Angeles on “May the Fourth be with you,” Dunn also praised manufacturing partner Panasonic for impeccable mastering of high-profile films on Blu-ray such as “Avatar.”

The new set with 6.1 DTS Surround Sound features only the special editions of chapters 4-6 (the first three movies),which were also re-released in theaters in the 1990s.

In addition to the Complete Saga, two separate packages will be available featuring the first and second trilogies.

Following are details of the releases.

Special Features:
STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA ON BLU-RAY is presented in widescreen with 6.1 DTS Surround Sound. Special features include:
●     DISC ONE – STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE
○     Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires
○     Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

●     DISC TWO – STAR WARS: EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES
○     Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll and Ben Snow
○     Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

●     DISC THREE – STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH
○     Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett
○     Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

●     DISC FOUR – STAR WARS: EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE
○     Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
○     Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

●     DISC FIVE – STAR WARS: EPISODE V THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
○     Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
○     Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

●     DISC SIX – STAR WARS: EPISODE VI RETURN OF THE JEDI
○     Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
○     Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

●     DISC SEVEN – NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES I-III
○     Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; a flythrough of the Lucasfilm Archives and more

●     DISC EIGHT – NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES IV-VI
○     Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; and more

●     DISC NINE – THE STAR WARS DOCUMENTARIES
○     NEW! Star Warriors  (2007, Color, Apx. 84 Minutes) – Some Star Wars fans want to collect action figures…these fans want to be action figures! A tribute to the 501st Legion, a global organization of Star Wars costume enthusiasts, this insightful documentary shows how the super-fan club promotes interest in the films through charity and volunteer work at fundraisers and high-profile special events around the world.
○     NEW! A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later  (2010, Color, Apx. 25 Minutes) – George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams look back on the making of The Empire Strikes Back in this in-depth retrospective from Lucasfilm created to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the movie. The masters discuss and reminisce about one of the most beloved films of all time.
○     NEW! Star Wars Spoofs  (2011, Color, Apx. 91 Minutes) – The farce is strong with this one! Enjoy a hilarious collection of Star Wars spoofs and parodies that have been created over the years, including outrageous clips from Family Guy, The Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother and more — and don’t miss “Weird Al” Yankovic’s one-of-a-kind music video tribute to The Phantom Menace!
○     The Making of Star Wars  (1977, Color, Apx. 49 Minutes) – Learn the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the original Star Wars movie was brought to the big screen in this fascinating documentary hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2. Includes interviews with George Lucas and appearances by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
○     The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX  (1980, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) – Learn the secrets of making movies in a galaxy far, far away. Hosted by Mark Hamill, this revealing documentary offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the amazing special effects that transformed George Lucas’ vision for Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back into reality!
○     Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi  (1983, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) – Go behind the scenes — and into the costumes — as production footage from Return of the Jedi is interspersed with vintage monster movie clips in this in-depth exploration of the painstaking techniques utilized by George Lucas to create the classic creatures and characters seen in the film. Hosted and narrated by Carrie Fisher and Billie Dee Williams.
○     Anatomy of a Dewback  (1997, Color, Apx. 26 Minutes) – See how some of the special effects in Star Wars became even more special two decades later! George Lucas explains and demonstrates how his team transformed the original dewback creatures from immovable rubber puppets (in the original 1977 release) to seemingly living, breathing creatures for the Star Wars 1997 Special Edition update.
○     Star Wars Tech  (2007, Color, Apx. 46 Minutes) – Exploring the technical aspects of Star Wars vehicles, weapons and gadgetry, Star Wars Tech consults leading scientists in the fields of physics, prosthetics, lasers, engineering and astronomy to examine the plausibility of Star Wars technology based on science as we know it today.

– By Scott Hettrick

Consumer spending on Blu-ray Disc software sales was up nearly 10 percent in the first quarter over the same period in 2010. And Blu-ray 3D software is expected to top $100 million for the year, according to the DEG’s First Quarter 2011 Home Entertainment Report.
Blu-ray Disc hardware sales are also increasing, with sales (inclusive of BD set-tops, PS3s and HTiBs) up more than 13 percent over first quarter 2010. This brings total household penetration of all Blu-ray compatible devices to nearly 30 million U.S. homes.

These gains are remarkable given an overall decline of 9.8% in home entertainment spending in Q1 and a whopping 18 percent decline in disc sales, which the DEG blames on a 25 percent decline in box office revenue during the first quarter. Poor-performing movies in theaters result in poor sales of those same movies at home.
With the Easter holiday coming later this year, the DEG reports that the second quarter is off to a much better start with software sales up 20 percent in the first few weeks so far.

The NPD Group’s recent “Entertainment Trends in America” report says that more than three quarters of U.S. consumers continue to view movies on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

Meanwhile, nearly seven million HDTVs were sold to U.S. consumers in first quarter 2011, up 11 percent over first quarter 2010. HDTV penetration life-to-date is more than 64.5 million U.S. households.

– By Scott Hettrick

DisneyToon Studios is producing a “Cars”-inspired spin-off feature film exclusively for Blu-ray and DVD in spring 2013 called “Planes.”
The CGI-animated comedy action adventure movie will introduce an entirely original crew of daredevils from every corner of the globe, the studio announced today.
“We had such a great time exploring the world of ‘Cars’ over the course of two films, so it
seemed only natural for us to see where our imaginations would take us in a film where planes were the main characters,” said John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios.

“Planes,” set against the backdrop of the fastest air racers, tells the story of Dusty, a small town dreamer who longs to enter the most epic around-the-world air race, despite his fear of heights. He gets help and support from a fleet of new characters.

Before Disney bought Pixar, Lasseter was very critical of Disney’s strategy of making DVD premiere animated sequels to almost every Disney animated feature, often several each year, some of which made hundreds of millions of dollars, including several sequels each to “The Lion King,” “Aladdin,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” as well as TV series spin-offs.
DisneyToon Studios, formed in 1990, produced more than 50 DVD premiere movies and popular TV series such as “Goof Troop,” “Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers” and “Darkwing Duck” for more than 15 years until 2006.
When Pixar founder Lasseter took over animation for both studios after the Disney merger with Pixar, that kind of production for home entertainment was halted almost completely, including the shut down of Disney’s TV animation studio in Australia and the significant downsizing of the Burbank studio. Almost the only project that survived was  “Tinker Bell.” The studio was nearly ready to release its first CGI movie for home video when Lasseter took over supervision of the production and completely revamped it into an ongoing Blu-ray/DVD franchise that has enjoyed premieres at Disney’s El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. There have been four episodes so far and a fifth is projected for releases next year.

Disney/Pixar has also produced a series of original “Cars” shorts called CarsToons for the Disney Channel, as well as a little-seen 3D short called “Tokyo Mater.” And though “Toy Story 2″ was the only sequel Pixar had produced prior to its merger with Disney, the studio, under Lasseter, has produced “Toy Story 3″ and will release “Cars 2″ this summer.

– By Scott Hettrick

More than half of the biggest movies nominated for Academy Awards are already on Blu-ray, including “The Social Network,” “Toy Story 3” (not in 3D yet), “Inception,” “Winter’s Bone,” and “The Kids are All Right,” with several others arriving soon after Oscar winners are announced on Feb. 27.

Among the other five movies nominated for Best Picture, Fox announced this week the March 1 release of “127 Hours,” and “The King’s Speech” is expected from Anchor Bay on April 19.

In the best animated feature category, DreamWorks’ / Paramount’s “How to Train Your Dragon” is available but also only in 2D. Disney announced this week the March 29 release of “Tangled,” which will be the studio’s first title released in Blu-ray 3D ($49.99) simultaneous with its debut on 2D Blu-ray and DVD. Bonus features include behind-the-scenes featurettes hosted by voice actors Mandy Moore and Zach Levi, deleted scenes, extended versions of songs “When Will My Life Begin” and “Mother Knows Best,” two alternate versions of the storybook opening, and a montage of Disney animated movies leading to this 50th feature release.

Nominees in other categories are also available, including “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Town,” “Animal Kingdom,” “The Wolfman,” “Salt,” “Iron Man 2,” “Restrepo,” and “Day & Night,” Pixar’s Oscar-nominated short that is included on “Toy Story 3.” “Unstoppable,” nominated for sound editing, is coming to Blu-ray Feb. 15, 12 days before the Oscar ceremony, and “Hereafter,” nominated for visual effects, is slated for March 15.

– By Scott Hettrick