The Phantom Menace is returning to cinemas in celebration of the movie’s 25th anniversary. This stunning featurette celebrates its impact!
Summary
- Celebrate 25 years of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’s return to theaters in 2024!
- Lucasfilm is rereleasing the entire Skywalker saga with The Phantom Menace at the forefront.
- Get excited for exclusive footage from The Acolyte, a prequel to the prequels, in this release.
Lucasfilm has released a thrilling new featurette celebrating Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace‘s return to the big screen. 2024 is an exciting year for viewers who grew up with the Star Wars prequel trilogy, because The Phantom Menace is officially 25 years old. Celebrating this, Lucasfilm is rereleasing the entire Skywalker saga on the big screen – with The Phantom Menace‘s rerelease in place of pride, alongside exclusive footage from The Acolyte, an upcoming Star Wars TV show that serves as a prequel to the prequels.
Lucasfilm has now released a new featurette honoring The Phantom Menace. It shows some unforgettable scenes from the movie, blended with behind-the-scenes footage and classic interviews. This is certain to whet viewers’ appetite for Star Wars‘ big screen return.
The Phantom Menace Has Had An Enduring Impact
The prequel generation has come of age
The Star Wars prequels were initially very controversial. George Lucas’ vision simply didn’t correspond with the prior assumptions of viewers who’d grown up with the original trilogy; they were particularly taken aback at the realization the Jedi Order had fallen long before the birth of the Empire. Meanwhile, there was a vitriolic backlash against child-friendly elements such as the young Anakin Skywalker – played by Jake Lloyd – and Ahmed Best’s Jar Jar Binks.
But the hate for the Star Wars prequel trilogy has died down. This is really because Lucas understood what many of those critics back in 1999 did not; that Star Wars is aimed at children first and foremost. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace won over an entire generation of viewers, and they have now come of age. Prequel trilogy stars such as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen have even returned in recent Disney+ TV shows, finally receiving the praise they deserved all along.
This background means Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace rerelease is an unusual cinematic event. It is an opportunity for the entire Star Wars fandom to come together around the prequels for the first time, casting a loving eye over the movie rather than a critical one. It will no doubt be all the sweeter for the stars themselves, with even Ahmed Best now welcome back in the fandom (he played Jedi Master Kelleran Beq in The Mandalorian, which almost felt like an apology from Star Wars for the way he was treated). This rerelease is not to be missed by any fans.
Source: Star Wars