star wars episode i the phantom menace poster

Here in the UK the mania that had greeted the US teasers was matched as we saw our first sight of Jar Jar, Gungans, Darth Maul, and much more. Anticipation, already at fever pitch, was raised to almost hysterical levels as our first glimpses of new Star Wars footage for a generation were screened. On 10 November 1998, the first teaser poster, featuring young Anakin Skywalker and the shadow of Darth Vader was released, but the 17 November release of the first teaser trailer changed everything. Here in the UK, Titan’s Star Wars magazine was going from strength to strength, riding on the high of the Special Editions and the ever-increasing wave of product coming to fans, and all the while we knew for certain that more was to follow.

Star Trek series still ruled television and prospered at the cinema, Buffy was enchanting viewers in her second season and on the big screen Armageddon, The Truman Show, and Dark City were flying the flag for sci-fi. The cast was filled with a number of familiar and rising British talents who would soon become household names…well, household names to fans of a galaxy far, far away at least.īy 1998 Star Wars fandom was in a good place, as was sci-fi in general. A former aircraft hangar, Leavesden had been home to the 1995 return of James Bond in Goldeneye and would soon go on to become the home of Harry Potter. In parallel with 2013’s announcement, it was confirmed that Star Wars would also be returning to the UK, but not to Pinewood - rather, it would head to Leavesden. Star Wars was on its way back to the silver screen. The release and success of the Star Wars Trilogy Special Editions in early 1997 and Episode I casting confirmations announced right here on put it beyond doubt. Variety announced the coming of the prequels in 1993 and Lucas began writing Episode 1 - The Beginning in November of 1994, but it was still hard for fans to believe that after so many years, Star Wars was truly returning. Fans know that the thematic seeds that evolved into the prequels were the backstory of the original trilogy, always promised as the first in a three-part trilogy. The Phantom Menace hit North American cinemas on May 19, 1999, - and here in the UK on 16 July 1999 - but the path to the prequels began much, much earlier. By the late ’90s, that fandom crossed multiple demographics and encompassed followers of various formats of media including roleplayers, computer gamers, action figure collectors, book readers, and comic fans. After the golden age of Star Wars that was the ’90s - a return to the public consciousness that rivaled its heyday of the late ’70s and early ’80s and banished the shadow of the Dark Times - Star Wars was ready to enter a new era of prominence that would both unite and divide an increasingly broad fandom.

Star wars episode i the phantom menace poster