The trade negotiations have failed, Padmé has her Queen Amidala face on, and Qui-Gon Jinn is reminding us that there’s always a bigger fish. It’s time to call on those droidekas because Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a limited run re-release in theaters.
Yes, Lucasfilm is bringing the once-maligned prequel back to cinemas to honor a quarter century of podracing and padawans — complete with an R2-D2 popcorn bucket that’s a lot more SFW than the Dune one. Whether you’re new to the galaxy far, far away or fancy yourself as something of a Master Plo Koon, here are 12 things you (probably) never knew about The Phantom Menace.
Star Wars: The Beginning
After George Lucas envisioned A New Hope as the fourth entry in what would become the sprawling Skywalker Saga, the door was left open for a prequel trilogy. Although he stepped away from the idea of developing a sequel trilogy, the success of the Legends stories in the ‘90s proved there was still plenty of hype for the wider franchise.
With advancements in CGI, Lucas started working on Star Wars: The Beginning in 1994 and referred back to a 15-page character outline he’d written in 1976. The first draft for Star Wars: The Beginning was widely different, with Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn (spelled Quigon) largely absent, Obi-Wan taking the mentor role, and Anakin being much older.
Alongside Darth Maul actually having some dialogue, Jar Jar Binks is a more serious character who speaks normally. The Jedi Council was shrunk to just Yoda, Mace Windu, and Ki-Adi-Mundi, and there were more politics with a focus on the racial tensions between the Gungans and the people of Naboo (Utapau in this draft). Most interestingly, there was a twisted love triangle between Anakin, Padmé, and Obi-Wan.
The Return of Darth Maul
The Phantom Menace ends with the climactic Duel of the Fates, which goes down in Star Wars history for the music alone. Claiming the lives of both Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul, it catapults Anakin on the path toward being “the Chosen One” with Obi-Wan as his father figure.
While Maul would go on to make a miraculous recovery and return for The Clone Wars animated series, the original plan was to have him appear later in the prequels. Speaking to /Film, The Clone Wars writer Henry Gilroy confirmed Revenge of the Sith’s General Grievous was going to be a disfigured Maul behind the character’s armor.
Even though we’re glad Maul got to return in some form, redeeming the character in the prequels might’ve helped him. Maul had just six minutes of screen time and three snippets of dialogue, leaving voice actor Peter Serafinowicz famously unhappy with the character’s sidelining – even calling it “one of the worst-paying jobs” he’d ever had.
The Tragedy of Jar Jar Binks
Another unhappy actor on the set of The Phantom Menace was Jar Jar Binks himself, Ahmed Best. Lucas once said that Jar Jar was “key” to the whole thing and praised this Goofy-inspired character, but unfortunately, the fans didn’t seem to get him.
Best had to dress in a rubberized costume to perform as Jar Jar, but when it came to The Phantom Menace’s actual release, he was an entirely CGI creation. That wasn’t Jar Jar’s only problem, and after being criticized as a racial caricature created solely to sell toys, fans went as far as creating edits that killed him off. J.J. Abrams even considered featuring Jar Jar’s bones as an Easter egg in The Force Awakens.
The other prequels took note, paring Jar Jar’s appearance down to a mere cameo in Revenge of the Sith. Best has been open about the toll this hatred took on him, with the actor telling Participant how he considered taking his own life. Best has thankfully returned to the franchise to play Kelleran Beq in The Mandalorian, but safe to say we don’t see Sith Jar Jar leading to a live-action reprieve anytime soon.
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Blue Blades
No matter what you think of the prequels, Samuel L. Jackson’s role as Mace Windu is a highlight. Jackson infamously said he’d only play the stoic Jedi Master if he could choose his own lightsaber color, meaning Lucas let him swing his signature purple blade.
Things were a little different back in Episode I, with Kenner’s “The Power of the Force” toy line showcasing Windu with a blue lightsaber. Windu didn’t use his lightsaber at all in The Phantom Menace, but when it came to Attack of the Clones, it seems he got his wish and got to pick purple.
2000’s Jedi Council: Acts of War comic series features Mace with his blue-bladed lightsaber during the Yinchorri Uprising, although later depictions of the event have changed it to purple. Both Legends and canon have their own reasons for Windu having a purple lightsaber, while him having a blue one during the events of Episode I is equally convoluted.
The Other Yoda
A forgotten addition to Episode I is Yaddle. Despite appearing in just one scene and being mysteriously absent in the rest of the prequels (we now know why), ‘female Yoda’ fascinated fans. Concept artist Iain McCaig originally envisioned Yaddle as an eight-year-old Yoda, however, it grew into its own character.
Yoda presented problems of his own, and although there were some CGI shots of him during the 1999 theatrical release, it was largely Franz Oz’s puppetry. When Lucas rereleased the movie on Blu-Ray in 2011, Yoda was entirely CGI and fit with newer modifications of the original trilogy.
To this day, we’re still not sure what species Yoda, Yaddle, or Grogu are, while Tales of the Jedi confirms that Yaddle speaks ‘normally’ and Yoda’s garbled way of talking is seemingly unique to him.
Costing the Economy
When The Phantom Menace released, we’d been starved of Star Wars movies for 16 years. Hype was at a fever pitch, with toy stores dedicated whole sections to Podracer LEGO and that iconic Jar Jar tongue toy.
While we weren’t short of blockbusters at the time, cinemagoers were stumping up the ticket cost for the likes of The Waterboy and Meet Joe Black just to see the Episode I trailer. There was also a barbed campaign that mocked Roland Emmerichh’s Godzilla with the tagline, “Plot does matter.” This backfired as The Phantom Menace was ravaged by the same complaints.
The Phantom Menace scored big at the box office and is Lucas’ only movie to take over a billion, but according to consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 2.2 million full-time employees bunked off from work to watch the movie, causing a whopping $293 million loss of productivity in North America.
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Weathering the Storm
More than just disgruntled actors, Episode I faced other behind-the-scenes dramas. Filming was nearly derailed by a devastating storm that ripped through Tunisia and, equally, the Tatooine set.
Away from Lucas’ over-reliance on CGI, the Tatooine set required a ton of practical sets, including a massive one for the Mos Espa podrace. During an episode of Star Wars Episode I: It’s Like War Now, Producer Rick McCallum explained how a massive storm hit the set on the third day of filming and ripped Anakin’s podracer in two.
Because a similar thing happened before A New Hope, Lucas saw it as a sign of good luck. The Tunisian army reportedly stepped in to help rebuild, and in the end, filming wrapped on the day it was scheduled to.
Sneaky Cameos
In an era of Easter egg hunts and Daniel Craig masquerading as a stormtrooper, modern Star Wars movies are known for their sneaky cameos. Still, if you were looking closely at The Phantom Menace, there were nods to some cinematic greats.
You might be able to spot an EVA Pod from 2001: A Space Odyssey in Watto’s junkyard as a wink to Stanley Kubrick, but what about a shared universe with a telephone-loving alien?
In the scene of Galactic Senate, we see a council of aliens who are the same species as the titular E.T. from E.T. — the Extra-Terrestrial. The species are “Asogians,” with the cameo returning the favor for Steven Spielberg hiding Yoda in E.T.
From President to Emperor
There are plenty of villains in Star Wars, but as the de facto big bad of the Skywalker Saga, Sheev Palpatine takes the conniving crown. Ian McDiarmid admitted he was surprised he was asked back to play Palpatine after Return of the Jedi, but with him under heavy prosthetics for Episode VI, it made sense for him to play a younger Palpatine.
The twist that Palpatine is Darth Sidious was fairly well signposted, but did you know Lucas took his inspiration from a real-life politician? In the Star Wars Archives Episodes I-III: 1999-2005, Lucas confirmed Palpatine is an homage to President Richard Nixon, explaining “He subverted the senate and finally took over and became an imperial guy, and he was really evil. But he pretended to be a really nice guy.”
As a big fan of history, Lucas also credits Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Adolf Hitler as inspirations for Palpatine, while Revenge of the Sith goes on to compare him to George W. Bush. No prizes for guessing which modern politician he likely took his cues from in Episode IX.
Woody and Wolverine
Aside from Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Ian McDiarmid, and Frank Oz reprising their roles from the original trilogy, Episode I was stocked with new faces. In some alternate reality, Benicio Del Toro was originally slated to play Darth Maul, Michael Jackson campaigned heavily to play Jar Jar, and Haley Joel Osment auditioned for Anakin.
When it came to casting Qui-Gon Jinn, Lucas envisioned an American actor, with Tom Hanks, Kyle MacLachlan, and even Morgan Freeman being thrown around. Despite Qui-Gon supposedly being a Jedi in his ‘60s, Neeson was only 47 when Episode I came out.
Hugh Jackman, Joseph Fiennes, and Tim Roth were considered for Obi-Wan, but McGregor ultimately landed the part. As well as being a lookalike for a younger Alec Guinness, McGregor is also the nephew of Star Wars legend Denis Lawson.
Wardrobe Wonders
The Phantom Menace marked a lot of firsts, but one of its unwanted honors was as the first entry in the franchise to be nominated for an Academy Award but not win. Although some thought it should’ve been, it also failed to get a nomination for Best Costume Design.
If you were blown away by the bright colors of the flamboyant Naboo and the dull greys of the corporate Coruscant, Costume Designer Trisha Biggar confirmed it’s all intentional. Each planet had its own unique style, so notice the sandy colors of the sun-baked Tatooine.
One person less happy with the costumes was Kiera Knightley. Speaking to Reading Eagle, Knightley said her 12-year-old self had to beg her mother to be part of the ensemble but would later regret how uncomfortable the costumes were – leading to her crying every day.
A Forgotten Post-Credit Scene
Although most of you will associate post-credit stingers with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lucas was trying this long before. Modern Star Wars projects, including The Book of Boba Fett and Andor, have post-credit scenes to tease future outings, but some 25 years ago, The Phantom Menace was showing us how it’s done.
The final moments of the movie’s credits include Darth Vader’s signature breathing. Having spent a whole movie watching Jake Lloyd’s bowl-haired hero, it was a tragic reminder of the misery about to come Anakin’s way. Obviously, it would be Hayden Christensen taking over for Attack of the Clones.
Episode II had more foreshadowing, with Vader’s breathing heard again when Anakin kills the Tusken Raiders. Even if Anakin doesn’t truly fall to the Dark Side until Revenge of the Sith and The Phantom Menace’s stinger doesn’t make sense plot-wise, it still has some serious impact.
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Author’s Bio:
Based in Manchester, UK, Tom Chapman has over seven years’ experience covering everything from dragons to Demogorgons. Starting out with a stint at Movie Pilot in Berlin, Tom has since branched out to indulge his love of all things Star Wars and the MCU at Digital Spy, Den of Geek, IGN, Yahoo! and more. These days, you’ll find Tom channelling his inner Gale Weathers and ranting about how HBO did us dirty with Game of Thrones Season Eight.
