'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace' Pre-release Phenomenon
Collage of Episode I Poster, toys and game covers
Image Source: Culture Slate
Let’s go back in time; the Year is 1999. The new millennium is around the corner, the Dreamcast is launching, and a ton of new movies are coming out. One of these movies is the long awaited Episode I of the Star Wars saga: The Phantom Menace. Love it or not, The Phantom Menace would prove to be one of the hottest movies of the year and that mainly means two things, it had a lot of hype and just as much merchandise. With the help of someone who lived through it, let’s go back to a time when The Phantom Menace dominated the public consciousness.
The prequels first became a blip in the public’s eye with the release of The Empire Strikes Back, with Lucas making it clear he intended for nine films. With the release of Return of the Jedi, however, the series would go on hiatus for more than a decade. With Lucas confirming work on the new trilogy in 1993, rumors began to spread about Episode I, and what it would be about. Would it feature the Clone Wars in some way, and who would appear in it? These rumors were only the tip of what would be the hype iceberg.
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In 1997, a page would be launched by Lucasfilm on the Star Wars official website. This page would be filled with production art, stills and updates from Episode I. With that, the official hype machine would be launched, and Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox would release a trailer in November 1998. Many Star Wars fans would go to see the movie, most often Meet Joe Black, and then leave the movie. Younger readers should remember, this was before the advent of smart phones, where people could just stream the trailer on Youtube and be done with it.
In April 1999, the first Star Wars Celebration would be held in Denver, with a clear focus on The Phantom Menace. Actors and recreated props from the movie could be found, though the event was marked by bad weather. Next month, tickets went on sale, with fans having been queuing outside of theatres for a month. You could find tent encampments in the major cities of America during the spring of 99, with many fans waiting months to see the final film. We’re certain some fans were disappointed, but overall it was an interesting time to be a Star Wars fan.
Star Wars celebration poster
Image Source: Wookipedia
Of course, there was another side to this Phantom Menace machine, merchandise. Since the release of the original Star Wars in 1977, there has been a healthy stream of merchandise for the saga, which Mel Brooks famously parodied in Space Balls. With Episode I on the horizon, licensors amped up production, resulting in a massive pile of merchandise. From games to toys, one couldn’t escape from the merchandising machine. It would probably take a day to discuss every little piece of merchandise in detail, so we’ll just go over the basics and have it done in a couple of paragraphs.
While every movie seemed to have action figures in that day, it was Star Wars that perfected much of the modern industry. For the Phantom Menace, about 50 different figures were released, including major characters like Obi Wan Kenobi and Qui Gon Jinn, alongside more minor characters like the podracers, Sio Bibble, even Ric Olié and TC-14. This unfortunately caused some issues with kids, as someone who wanted a figure of, for example Mace Windu might end up getting a different toy, say Nute Gunray, and thus end up disappointed. Still, it’s easy to appreciate the scope of the line.
Episode I toys
Image Source: Gizmodo
Of course, that was just the main action figure line. There were also vehicle and creature lines, “CinemaScene” multipacks, and a bunch of other stuff. These included branded and themed mugs, clothes, board games, electronic games, even plush toys. That’s right, Watto, of all characters, got his own plush toy. There were also the usual restaurant tie-ins, collectible themed cans, and of course, LEGO. LEGO Star Wars was the first licensed brand, and The Phantom Menace made up eight of the thirteen launch sets. This partnership would become a success in its own right, spawning more sets in the years to come.
One other end of the merchandise scene were the books. These include the comic book adaptation, with an expanded prologue and a novelization by Terry Brooks, which expands a bit on the Sith by introducing Darth Bane, creator of the “Rule of Two”.
When the film was released on May 19, the hype grew. So many people came to watch the movie that companies shut down. You could find coverage of the film on the news, and pictures on vending machines and tattoos. Duel of the Fates would be successful on MTV, while Weird Al would parody American Pie as The Saga Begins.
Another branch of this hype machine was video games. There were about 9 tie in games to The Phantom Menace, including the “main” tie in game, an adventure RPG, Episode I Racer, a podracing game, Jedi Power Battles, a two player beat-’em up, Battle for Naboo, an arcade style action game from the developers of Rogue Squadron, Obi-Wan’s Adventure, essentially a portable version of Jedi Power Battles, Starfighter, a flight sim similar to but distinct from Battle for Naboo, Bombad Racing, a kat racer for children, Obi-Wan, An Xbox exclusive with a unique control scheme, and Racer Revenge, a sequel to Episode I Racer, overlapping with Attack of the Clones.
The Phantom Menace video game cover
Image Source: Wookiepedia
Now we’ve reached the last spot in this entire endeavor: home video. The Phantom Menace was the last of the prequel trilogy to be released on VHS in most territories on April 4 2000. Of course, by this point DVDs were taking off, so Episode I became the first Star Wars film released on DVD on October 16, 2001. This release included a different cut of the movie and a second disc with bonus features, including “The Beginning: Making Episode I", a making-of documentary, as the title suggests.
That’s all for this trip back in time. We’ll return later to talk about the beginning of the Clone Wars.
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