I know there's a lot of people who are against the Star Wars Saga being brought back in 3D onto the screen..but keep in mind that bringing back the Star Wars saga onto the screen will generate interest to a whole new generation of Star Wars fans. There's a whole new generation out there who has never seen Star Wars and they have no interest in Star Wars. The current plan for the 3D release is to show the entire 6 chapters of the Star Wars saga every year, so the "Phantom Menace" in will start in 2012, and it will end with "Return of The Jedi" in 2017. That's more than enough time to generate interest for a whole new generation into Star Wars.
I've asked some teenagers/tweens who only saw parts of the original trilogy and they told me that Boba Fett was "lame". (That may sound shocking to us, but that's what they think because they never saw the whole movie on the big screen, and aren't familiar with Boba Fett like we are.) Keep in mind also that for their generation, the internet & video games were always around when they were growing up, and those tweens never saw the original trilogy on the big screen. While there are some young teenage fans of Star Wars today, the reality is that they are more in the minority than majority. Putting the Star Wars saga back on the screen will certainly generate interest for their generation. Many of them aren't going to care whether it's 2-D or 3D, and they aren't to nitpick like we do, because they never saw the original version.
It's also interesting to note that many of the younger generation prefers the "Special Editions" versions over the original versions. Many of them thought that the special effects for the original untampered versions were terrible & very outdated & they saw the pacing as very slow. (They couldn't see what the fuss was all about over the original trilogy in what they saw as a movie with very poor & outdated special effects. After seeing the untampered version of "A New Hope", one girl remarked that the lightsaber duel between Darth Vader & Obi Wan as " The lamest fight ever". ) Many of our generation prefers the untampered version because that's the version that we grew up with. That's not necessarily the case with the younger generation, because they didn't grow up watching the original version. (And you aren't going to get their interest by showing them the untampered versions onto the big screen. Many of them also have no interest in picking up the DVD, but it's very likely that the 3D versions will generate their interest in going to see the movie.) Perhaps, these 3D movies will generate the same sense of awe & wonder for the next generation like the original 2D version did for our generation.
I don't want Star Wars fandom to die out with our generation, and be forgotten by the next generation. In order for our fandom to grow within the next 30 years, we need to bring it to the next generation. It would break my heart if 30 years from now, people in the sci-fi fandom will say "Star Wars"? "What's that?"
When I was at the San Diego Comic Con, I remember seeing a few autograph tables that had some actors who had played some sci-fi roles from the 1950's and 1960's. They were literally begging & pleading for people to come to their table, and people would just walk past them. I don't want the future of Star Wars fandom to end up like that 30 to 40 years from now....forgotten & ignored. When our generation passes away, who is going to take over the Star Wars fandom if we don't bring interest to the next generation? Do we really want the movies & books that contains the exploits & stories of Boba Fett, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo & Chewbacca, Obi Wan Kenobi to collect dust, and be forgotten in the digital libraries of the future?
Also, George Lucas isn't getting younger by the day, and even Harrison Ford is old enough to be a great grandfather now. In about two short decades, it's quite possible that they, and the majority of the original trilogy actors may pass away. (Many of the the original trilogy actors have already passed away.) The next future generation won't have the luxury of being able to meet the all those people who helped create the original trilogy like we do today. (And many of the actors from the prequels by that time will either be retiring or collection a pension.)
I would say that instead of thinking of this 3D release as a curse, think of it as hidden blessing for the future of Star Wars fandom. (Yes, I would cringe too at seeing Jar Jar in 3D, but if it means bringing in a whole new generation of Star Wars fans, then the advantages would outweigh the disadvantages in this case.)