I've had this amazing idea but as it's only the 21st century we might not yet have developed software tools sophisticated enough to implement it. Here goes anyway...
Why not put the subtitles in the black part of the screen so they don't ruin the beautiful images Lucasfilm worked so hard on?
Although another question comes to mind: why aren't Disney making TV shows in the correct aspect ratio for TV?
Another question: why don't they hire people who know enough about audio to mix the sound well enough so we don't need subtitles?
@dpiponi for subtitles: my guess is that movie makers watch them super loud in a dedicated room while understanding the language perfectly, so they never thought that subtitles could be useful to all. Maybe eventually, smart TVs will upload stats on subtitle usage and they'll realize how important it is. Maybe it's happening already?
Regarding aspect ratios: I don't have a rationalization. I am deeply disturbed each time the aspect ratio is wrong, e.g. an old 4:3 stretched to fit a widescreen TV.
