A little while ago, somebody in some thread linked to a forum somewhere (don't you love how specific my memory is on this?) with a top Criterion person, where they claimed that Seven Samurai was being worked on for re-release sometime in 2005. No information on when, as far as anyone here has posted, but no, you weren't dreaming.
Well, if by next year you mean 2005, we're already in it. But yeah, surely they would have announced it by now if it were coming out in March, so it can't be coming that soon.
One would imagine that Criterion is preparing extensive extras for a 2-disc SE of Seven Samurai. And they won't be rushing the hi-def transfer, either - it will surely serve to be the definitive transfer for years to come for this epic masterpiece.