Sounds like Carrie Fisher knew what she was talking about when she said she was going to return as Princess Leia for "Star Wars: Episode VII."

Though the actress' rep later said Fisher was "joking," George Lucas went and told Bloomberg Businessweek that, even before Lucasfilm was sold to Disney for more than $4 billion, "we had already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison -- or we were pretty much in final stages of negotiation."

Wait, what?!

Barack Obama gets called out for "Jedi Mind-Meld" Mix-Up

"Maybe I'm not supposed to say that," Lucas added after a pause, per Bloomberg. "I think they want to announce that with some big whoop-de-do, but we were negotiating with them. I won't say whether the negotiations were successful or not."

But count on the folks at Wired and CNet and other interested parties to pick up on that one exchange out of the middle of a massive article about deal-making and the future of the Star Wars franchise.

And despite the attempt at backtracking, this does mark the first time anyone has used the word signed when it comes to Fisher, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, let alone all three in one sentence, and the upcoming seventh film in the saga.

Harrison Ford is also in "Anchorman 2": Check out his 'do!

Prior to Fisher's moment of candor, Hamill had said that he and his two principal costars had not yet signed contracts and Ford had been characteristically mum on the subject, despite a report that he was interested in returning as Han Solo.

J.J. Abrams has signed on to direct and Oscar winner Michael Arndt is penning the screenplay for "Episode VII," which Disney is aiming to release in 2015, with "Episode VIII" and "IX" following in two- or three-year intervals.

Disney boss Robert Iger confirmed last month that "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" scribe Lawrence Kasdan is teaming with "Sherlock Holmes" screenwriter Simon Kinberg to develop spinoff films apart from the planned trilogy.

Where are the stars of "Star Wars" now?

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Chris Pizzello / AP file

George Lucas and Darth Vader.

By the end of the year, the $4.05 billion sale of Lucasfilm to Disney should be finalized. And since George Lucas owns 100 percent of his company - which has little to no debt -- all that money goes to him.

After that, Lucas plans to quickly put the bulk of the money into a foundation which will primarily focus on educational issues, a spokesperson for Lucasfilm tells THR. 

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“George Lucas has expressed his intention, in the event the deal closes, to donate the majority of the proceeds to his philanthropic endeavors.”

It's not yet clear which foundation will get the proceeds. Lucas is currently the chairman of Edutopia, which is part of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. He could put money into that or create a new foundation which would be funded from the sale.

RELATED: George Lucas' Next Act: Bill Gates-style Philanthropy

The Foundation was the vehicle Lucas used to make a $175 million donation to his alma mater USC in 2006. He has also given to many other causes over the years including the Film Foundation, Stand Up To Cancer and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“For 41 years, the majority of my time and money has been put into the company,” Lucas said in a statement Wednesday. “As I start a new chapter in my life, it is gratifying that I have the opportunity to devote more time and resources to philanthropy.”

RELATED: George Lucas' 2010 Philanthropy Pledge

The spokesperson noted that this “announcement continues a commitment that Lucas made in 2010 to The Giving Pledge where he stated,  “I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education.  It is the key to the survival of the human race.  We have to plan for our collective future—and the first step begins with social, emotional, and intellectual tools we provide to our children.  As humans, our greatest tool for survival is our ability to think and to adapt—as educators, storytellers, and communicators our responsibility is to continue to do so.’” 

When technology advanced far enough to let audiences wean themselves from analog video cassettes into the streamlined world of digital DVDs, many cheered. But for some, those cheers turned to boos when some directors decided to use the new digital tech to rejigger some of their most beloved movies. George Lucas got dunned for making adjustments to his "Star Wars" films, and Steven Spielberg took some heat when he sanitized 1982's "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" in 2002 by putting walkie-talkies in the hands of the FBI men, and taking out their rifles. 

Now, in time for the film's 30th anniversary, Spielberg has decided to mend his ways by un-"mending" the film. The guns are coming back, according to Vulture.

As Spielberg told an audience at a screening last fall, he  knows that he erred in editing them out in the first place.

"I tried (changing a film) once and lived to regret it. Not because of fan outrage, but because I was disappointed in myself," said Spielberg. "I got overly sensitive to (some of the reaction) to 'E.T.' and I thought if technology ever evolved (I might go in and change some things) ... it was OK for a while, but I realized what I had done was I had robbed people who loved 'E.T.' of their memories of 'E.T.'"

So for the Blu-Ray of "E.T.," which will be released in October, the firepower has been restored. Just check out the new trailer (at the top, around :25 is when the guns appear) and the old one (below; they're replaced with walkie-talkies around 1:13) to see the difference.

Do you prefer having the film restored to its original version? Let us know on Facebook!

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LucasFilm

Fans are not buying George Lucas' claim that Han Solo (Harrison Ford, right) didn't shoot first.

Face it, George Lucas: everyone knows Han shot first.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the "Star Wars" director, whose "Phantom Menace" hits theaters in 3-D this weekend, not only defended his controversial additions to the special edition of the original film, but attempted to change movie history.

In the infamous cantina shootout between Han Solo and bounty hunter Greedo, the original shot shows Han Solo blasting Greedo, the edited version shows Greedo aiming and missing from point-blank range, then being shot by Han.

Despite the fact that millions of people saw the scene in theaters and no one ever had any doubt about what happened, Lucas is now saying that Greedo always shot first, and his edits were just making that more obvious.

“It had been done in all close-ups and it was confusing about who did what to whom,” Lucas told THR. “I put a little wider shot in there that made it clear that Greedo is the one who shot first, but everyone wanted to think that Han shot first, because they wanted to think that he actually just gunned him down.”

Because he did!

Lucas goes on to blame the rest of the world for wanting Han to be a “cold-blooded killer,” thus misinterpreting the film for decades.

But fans have their own opinions. Wrote Chris Wootton in response to the Hollywood Reporter interview: "Sorry Lucas but it was never an argument over 'who shot first' Han shot him to save his own life ... simple."

And on TotalFilm.com, a fan going by FBPMurray37 agrees, noting, "Greedo is a highly experienced bounty hunter. Yet he misses Han from three feet. ... The only way Han walks out of that situation alive is if he blows Greedo away before Greedo gets the chance to do the same thing to him."

Even children understood the scene from the start. As David Sparks tweeted, "George is delusional. It was clear to me as an 8-year-old. Han shot first."

Lucas isn't too concerned with whether or not fans are upset. “Well, it’s not a religious event.," he said. "I hate to tell people that… It’s a movie, just a movie.”

ORIGINAL SCENE:

EDITED SCENE:

 Tell us on Facebook: Which scene do you prefer? Who do you think shot first?

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