TravisR
Senior HTF Member
At the time, it was cutting edge work and the Jabba scene is the best example of the SE largely being a test run to see what they could do with CG as they were gearing up for The Phantom Menace. It's kind of incredible how much better technology and the artistry got in two years with Jar Jar Binks which is clearly a major step up from Jabba.If I remember correctly, this version was something special and not something they did in a hurry. They used the Jurassic Park technology and it took years to do it, or at least they had the finished scene years in advance. I remember a reporter saying Lucas invited him to show this special scene much in advance and his jaw dropped. Maybe it was Star Wars Insider, but it was the stuff of legend and we knew this existed much in advance before seeing any photos.
The SE was definitely no secret and it was talked about years in advance. There's a mention of the re-release and the digital Jabba in Star Wars Galaxy Magazine issue #3 (another LFL licensed magazine) from Spring 1995 and I assume that Star Wars Insider mentioned it around the same time in either an interview with Lucas as he talked about getting ready to do the prequels or in their regular Prequel Updates with Rick McCallum.