STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE Returning To Theaters For 25th Anniversary; Check Out A New Poster

STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE Returning To Theaters For 25th Anniversary; Check Out A New Poster

It's been 25 year since the first of George Lucas' Star Wars prequels arrived in theaters, and The Phantom Menace is being re-released for a limited time this May...

By MarkCassidy - Feb 11, 2024 10:02 AM EST
Filed Under: Star Wars
Source: Via SFF Gazette

To mark the movie's 25th anniversary, Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace is returning to theaters for a limited run from May 3, just in time for Star Wars Day.

As you might expect, there was a lot of excitement for The Phantom Menace in the build-up to its release, and while the movie certainly had its share of defenders at the time, most would have to agree that it didn't exactly live up to the hype.

The first Star Wars prequel was criticized for (among other things) its poorly-written dialogue, wooden acting, and uninvolving story (we probably don't even need to mention a certain CGI Gungan), but it can be easy to forget the positives: The exciting Pod-Race, the epic three-way lightsaber duel between Darth Maul, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn, and John William' sublime "Duel of the Fates."

The movie benefitted from reevaluation - along with Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith - after the release of the underwhelming The Rise of Skywalker, and many Star Wars fans have come to feel that the Prequel Trilogy is actually stronger than the Sequel Trilogy overall.

Whether you happen to agree or not, seeing The Phantom Menace on the big screen again (or for the first time) would surely be a worthwhile experience.

To mark the re-release, Empire has debuted some new poster art from Matt Ferguson, featuring Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Padmé, and Darth Maul looming in the background. Ferguson later weighed-in with his thoughts on Episode 1's return to theaters.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is a young apprentice Jedi knight under the tutelage of Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) ; Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), who will later father Luke Skywalker and become known as Darth Vader, is just a 9-year-old boy. When the Trade Federation cuts off all routes to the planet Naboo, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are assigned to settle the matter."

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Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 2/11/2024, 10:02 AM
Relive the crushing disappointment again! (tm)
tylerzero
tylerzero - 2/11/2024, 10:23 AM
@Feralwookiee -

Sure, it was the first couple of viewings, but I thought it was Citizen Kane by the sixth time I forced myself to watch it in the theater.
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 2/11/2024, 10:42 AM
@tylerzero - Wow.
That's some different level of masochism right there. Lol
bobevanz
bobevanz - 2/11/2024, 10:43 AM
@Feralwookiee - it's better than 2,7,8 and 9
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 2/11/2024, 10:46 AM
@bobevanz - I would say it's "better" than 7-9, but they don't even count imo.
Episode 2 is a mess, but I enjoy it a lot more than TPM.
AllsGood
AllsGood - 2/11/2024, 10:15 AM
Don't matter what the Haters say Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) was a Box Office success. The Numbers don't lie.

DOMESTIC = $474,544,677

INTERNATIONAL = $552,538,030

WORLDWIDE = $1,029,275,933
AllsGood
AllsGood - 2/11/2024, 10:26 AM
@AllsGood - Even Dune (2021) even gets close to 1 Billion WORLDWIDE = $402,597,830.

Long-Range Box-Office Forecast: Dune: Part Two

Warner Bros. March 1, 2024 Opening Weekend Range: $50M-$75M and a Domestic Total Range: $125M-$195M.
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 2/11/2024, 10:26 AM
@AllsGood -
Don't matter what the Haters say Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) was a Box Office success. The Numbers don't lie.

DOMESTIC = $352,390,543

INTERNATIONAL = $771,403,536

WORLDWIDE = $1,123,794,079


🤣


AllsGood
AllsGood - 2/11/2024, 10:32 AM
@Feralwookiee - Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) was a Box Office success. The Numbers don't lie it was a Huge box office success and keep getting new movies.

Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 2/11/2024, 10:34 AM
@AllsGood - Now tell us how box office success correlates to the quality of a film. 😝
Drace24
Drace24 - 2/11/2024, 10:43 AM
@Feralwookiee - That wasn't even the point. @AllsGood just said that it was a financial success. That's a fact. Quality is subjective. Noone has authority over that. But it is interesting how you immediately got defensive, almost as if your hate for a 25 year old movie has become a part of your identity, so that you value every opposing opinion as an attack against yourself.

Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 2/12/2024, 7:48 AM
@AllsGood - And McDonalds is the top selling hamburger.
Drace24
Drace24 - 2/11/2024, 10:29 AM
As someone who grew up with the prequels, watching them finally getting their rennaissance as of late feels so satisfying. They were always great movies. Most of the criticism is either ill-informed (like "it's all green screen" or "it's all politics", neither is true) or hypocritical because the same things could be said about the OT.

I understand why the OT is more iconic to people and I can relate to that. But they have been put on such a pedestal that it's really no wonder why old school fanboys have become such a toxic mess. When I hear them talk about their first experiences watching the OT in theatres and being introduced to this universe, that's exactly how I felt when I watched Phantom Menace. My dad went with me and he still teases me about how he couldn't keep me on my seat because of how excited I was. Phantom Menace is fantastic and I'm glad it finally gets the recognition it deserves.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 2/11/2024, 10:33 AM
I was obsessed with Star Wars when I was a kid, and was so excited when I heard about the prequels. I've never been so hyped walking into the cinema to see The Phantom Menace, and don't think I've ever been so disappointed as it slowly dawned on me that I was watching a load of bollocks.

Then I rewatched them all as an adult, and I have to say... they're still crap! Nah, I have grown to appreciate the good stuff more, but the bad is just SO bad.
HulkisHoly
HulkisHoly - 2/11/2024, 11:08 AM
@MarkCassidy -

The Disney sequels are garbage but so we’re lucas’ prequels. It’s just the sad reality that stars wars only has like 4 good movies under its belt
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 2/11/2024, 11:16 AM
@HulkisHoly - I liked TFA and TLJ, the problem was ROS was so bad that it tarnished the trilogy as a whole. It was also obvious that they didn't have a cohesive story in mind from the beginning. One thing I'll say about the prequels is that the overall story and character arcs worked well.
HulkisHoly
HulkisHoly - 2/11/2024, 3:29 PM
@MarkCassidy -

Visually, the sequels are the best looking films but yes, they clearly had no plan and it is so obvious it’s frustrating. The prequels were better thought out in character arcs but have terrible visuals and dialogue.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 2/11/2024, 10:45 AM
It's waaaay better than Attack of The Clones, and I'd watch it a million times before ever watching the sequel trilogy. At least they tried to tell a [frick]ing story. I'll drop the ticket release time like always, can't count on the writers lol
AmazingFILMporg
AmazingFILMporg - 2/11/2024, 11:07 AM
The phantom menace was pure garbage. People pointing out that it's better than blah blah blah is just a distraction. It [frick]ing sucks and just because something else is garbage doesn't make it any less garbage 💁
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 2/11/2024, 12:24 PM
Never got the chance to watch this on the big screen, so I'll definitely take the chance now. Here's hoping II and III get 25th Anniversaries and IV, V, and VI get 50th Anniversaries as well
valmic
valmic - 2/11/2024, 6:36 PM
thats an ugly ass poster
Timerider
Timerider - 2/12/2024, 9:17 AM
Could they make Jake Lloyd any smaller on that poster? No pod racing on the highway in real life.

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