by Michael Lyons
The day after seeing Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace in May of 1999, I remember opening up one of the newspapers, and the headline, the lead story, was George Lucas' brand new, eagerly awaited entry in his seminal, now ubiquitous space opera.
The journalist covering the story recalled how at the screening they attended the night before, just before The Phantom Menace started, the lights dimmed in the theater, the crowd hushed, and a fan shouted, "God bless Star Wars!"
That's how all of us who had been waiting since Return of the Jedi, sixteen years earlier in the summer of 1983, felt. Since that summer, Star Wars, as a movie, pop-culture phenomenon, and thing, had been as barren a desert as Tattooine itself.
As Star Wars fans, we had felt forgotten, hanging our hats on only three films, waiting for that day when Mr. Lucas would make good on his promise to tell the other stories that had been toiling around in his brain from that galaxy "far, far away."
It is so strange to think of in today's world, where if you just say Star Wars, a new movie, Disney+ show, or theme-park land seemingly appears. That was not the case in 1999; we were all ready for it. When The Phantom Menace finally bowed, we had all seen it, discussed it, and dissected it that entire summer twenty-five years ago (time indeed does speed faster than a jump to hyperspace, doesn't it?). There were many feelings, some high, some low, and some mixed.
But one thing couldn't be denied - we had a new Star Wars movie!
The Phantom Menace hype machine kicked into full gear for me in the fall of 1998 during a trip to the theaters to see A Bug's Life. Before this second Disney/Pixar feature, I saw, for the first time, that very first teaser trailer for The Phantom Menace.
At the time, there were stories of fans buying a ticket to a movie, staying for The Phantom Menace teaser, and then walking out before the feature started. You remember it, right? Just after the 20th-Century Fox logo, we saw "Lucasfilm, LTD," glowing in green, with familiar music playing underneath, after which the title card followed: "Every generation has a legend..."
Chills. Chills.
This was when we got our first look at Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan, Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon, a young (er) Yoda, an imposing villain named Darth Maul (with a double-blade lightsaber), Natalie Portman as Queen Amidala, and Jake Lloyd as Anakin, a/k/a soon to be Darth Vader.
Theaters had also featured young Anakin in a savvy teaser poster, featuring the young boy casting a shadow in the shape of Vader.
When the teaser trailer announced, "The Saga Begins Spring 1999," it couldn't get here fast enough.
It was evident that others shared my excitement. After that fall of '98, what followed for was a countdown to an all-encompassing "event" that fanboys and movie studios could only dream of.
My cousin Ken shared my love of Star Wars, and over the next five months, we became partners on the journey to see Phantom Menace. We were in contact when the next trailer debuted in March of 1999 and seamlessly sought out a "bootleg" version that made its way to the internet (little did we know how commonplace that would become).
It was around then that we started hearing about lines forming at theaters. Fans who brought beach chairs, tents, and lightsabers sat outside movie theaters so they could be among the first to purchase tickets at the box office (how grateful we should be now to have apps for this right on our smartphones). And the fans waited for months, in all kinds of weather.
Then, pre-sale tickets were available in early May, and my cousin Ken was on it! I believe ours were purchased through the now archaic-sounding MovieFone. Ken told me that he had gotten two tickets for opening day for a 9:30 show...9:30 in the morning. Some theaters, including the Loews in Stony Brook, NY, where we would see it, would show Phantom Menace almost 'round the clock.
Ken and I were two of the many who took the day off from work (I remember reading that some businesses closed because so many employees were taking the day to go to the movies), and in the weeks and days leading up to Phantom Menace, coverage in the media was inescapable. Local news, national news, Entertainment Tonight, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, CNN - if you were a news outlet, you were covering Star Wars.
Each of them not just covering the film but the hype around it, from fans camped out to packed, cheering theaters. Phantom Menace had turned what would have been a random Wednesday in May into something much more. It was the "Barbenheimer" of its day, but even more so.
Ken and I sat in the theater on that gray, chilly New York morning. The Fox fanfare, LucasfFilm logo, "Long time ago..." title card, and explosion of "Star Wars" all received thunderous applause from the hungry crowd.
Then, Phantom Menace started, with its story of trade federations, a young Darth Vader who yelled "yippie," a pod race, Jar Jar Binks, and Samuel L. Jackson looking badass as usual as a Jedi.
The conversation of all of this consumed the next several months, playing out against the backdrop of action figures, T-shirts, Taco Bell promotions, Pepsi cans with character pictures on them, and much more that made it the summer of Phantom Menace.
How did I feel about it? The same way I do now - Phantom Menace. is kind of like a gift that's not what you were expecting, but you really appreciate the sentiment. It was wonderful to have a new Star Wars movie and to think about what this meant for more prequels...but Phantom Menace wasn't quite the Star Wars movie I was hoping for.
More emotion, more connection, like that seen in the three previous films, and a little less CGI focus (which is, admittedly, still impressive) would have been nice, in my humble opinion.
In the twenty-five years since the summer of Phantom Menace, I have come to peace with my disappointment. I also genuinely appreciate the nostalgia that the generation who grew up with the film (and saw it as their Star Wars) has for it.
Two and half decades later, I have also come to appreciate the film for what it gave fans and how it opened a portal in Star Wars popularity that has made George Lucas' galaxy an everyday part of ours.
So, happy 25th anniversary to Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace. May the Fourth be with you, and yes, "God bless Star Wars!"
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