Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace played a crucial role in the Skywalker Saga, and the movie’s ending sealed the fates of many of Star Wars’ most important characters. Releasing more than a decade after Return of the Jedi in the chronology of Star Wars movies and TV shows, The Phantom Menace was a major point of connection in the Star Wars timeline. It brought together the iconic original trilogy with its prequels and then launched the franchise forward with not only the sequels but also all Star Wars spin-off shows and movies.
The Phantom Menace also set the stage for the defining moments in Anakin Skywalker’s downfall, which in many ways comprise the story of the prequel trilogy. In light of that, The Phantom Menace is absolutely foundational to the entire franchise, which makes sense, given it offers the origin story of so many of Star Wars’ main characters. In particular, the movie’s ending and its role in the larger Skywalker Saga make clear the monumental impact The Phantom Menace had on the larger Star Wars galaxy.
When Qui-Gon Jinn arrived on Tatooine, he may have just been looking for ship parts, but he left with someone who changed the future of the galaxy. As soon as he, Padmé (disguised as a handmaiden despite being the queen), and Jar Jar Binks visited Watto’s junk shop for assistance and encountered Anakin Skywalker, everyone’s fates changed. Qui-Gon quickly identified him as the one prophesied in the Chosen One prophecy in the scenes that followed, and he took him under his wing, eventually taking him from the planet and his mother.
However, for Anakin, Qui-Gon represented something very different. While the idea of leaving Tatooine, being freed from slavery, and becoming a Jedi was, of course, exciting for him, Anakin had no idea the weight of what he was about to take on. Instead, he seemed drawn to Qui-Gon as a father figure. Anakin had no father, having seemingly been created from the Force itself. When Qui-Gon took such an interest in Anakin and wanted to protect him, it had a profound impact on him.
Unfortunately for Anakin and all the people he would go on to harm, that impact was mostly for the worse. At the end of The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon engaged in the epic Duel of the Fates battle with Darth Maul alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi and lost his life. This was a crushing blow for Anakin. On the one hand, Qui-Gon had been the one person truly advocating for him to become a Jedi, promising him training. On the other, he had now lost two parents.
Anakin was not taken as an infant and trained in the Jedi way as nearly every other Jedi was. Instead, he was raised with a traditional family bond with his mother. When he was then removed from that family at 9 years old and taken to Coruscant, he felt that as a loss as much as an opportunity. Losing Qui-Gon, his one advocate and his father figure, left him truly alone.
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life was also irrevocably changed the moment Qui-Gon found Anakin. At the time, Obi-Wan was still Qui-Gon’s Padawan, not yet a full Jedi Knight. When Qui-Gon became desperate for Anakin to be accepted and trained as a Jedi, no matter anyone’s opinions or the Jedi Council’s clear concerns, he insisted that Obi-Wan was also ready to face the Jedi Trials and become a Jedi Knight. While Obi-Wan likely was ready, Qui-Gon’s goal was to free himself up to be Anakin’s Jedi Master, as Masters can only have one Padawan at a time.
This push for Obi-Wan’s knighthood was problematic enough, but it became even more so when, as he was dying, Qui-Gon asked Obi-Wan to promise he would train Anakin as his own Padawan. The burden of that request was immense. Of course Obi-Wan was going to accept his beloved Master’s dying wish; however, Obi-Wan shared the Council’s concerns about Anakin’s age and whether he was truly fit to become a Jedi. Moreover, this came immediately on the heels of Obi-Wan becoming a Knight himself.
Simply put, Obi-Wan wasn’t ready. Yes, he was an incredibly wise and powerful Jedi even when he was a Padawan, but he had only just been a Padawan when he took one on himself. He had also had that Padawan thrust upon him against his better judgment. In fact, that aspect of the arrangement, even more than Obi-Wan’s still considerable lack of experience at the time, was the most damaging. Obi-Wan hadn’t been sure about Anakin’s future as a Jedi, and that uneasiness was felt and resented by Anakin.
The most vocal members of the Jedi Council with concerns about Anakin were Mace Windu and Master Yoda, the latter in many ways predicting Anakin’s fate. As Anakin stood before the Council, being tested on his Force abilities and questioned about himself, Yoda picked up on his lingering sadness over his mother. During that discussion, Yoda famously explained that fear leads to anger and anger leads to hate, and that this progression is the path to the dark side. Fascinatingly, this very progression represents the story of the prequels.
In The Phantom Menace, Anakin was full of fear. Of course, again, having not been raised in the Jedi Temple or its ways, this made sense; it would be normal for a non-Jedi child to be afraid of leaving his mother, going to a new planet far away, and being scrutinized. However, perhaps because of his Force abilities, those feelings of fear did progress exactly as Yoda anticipated. In Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Anakin was full of anger.
Not only did Anakin carry out his brutal slaughter of the Tusken Raiders in Attack of the Clones, but also he spent a large part of the movie having outbursts about various things, especially his perception that Obi-Wan’s teachings and treatment of him were unfair. Ultimately, and tragically, in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, this transformed into full-blown hatred, with Anakin ultimately embracing the dark side and helping nearly eradicate the Jedi.
While Palpatine lost his apprentice in The Phantom Menace, as Darth Maul seemingly died at Obi-Wan’s hand after killing Qui-Gon, this changed nothing for the Emperor-to-be. In fact, as most things in the prequels were, this was all easily handled in Palpatine’s larger plan. When Maul died, Palpatine quickly brought on Count Dooku as his next Sith apprentice. Arguably, Dooku was an even better choice. Whereas Maul was powerful but unpredictable and full of rage, Dooku was disciplined and dangerous.
Dooku had been trained as a Jedi and risen to the rank of Master, even training Qui-Gon as his own Padawan. This meant that he had decades of experience as a warrior who led with composure and wisdom; he posed a much more serious problem to the Jedi in that sense. Adding to that threat level was the fact that Dooku was very familiar with their ways, having been raised with them. It made him a much more formidable opponent.
Just as importantly, Palpatine had made a successful grab for power and was Chancellor of the Republic by the end of The Phantom Menace. Although he had already been a prominent senator, this changed everything. A Sith was now at the helm of the Republic, and this would ultimately shore up his rise to Emperor by Revenge of the Sith. Not only was Palpatine now running the Republic, but he was also in prime position to control the Clone Wars, setting up the tragedies to come.
Star Wars is well-known for its retcons, and The Phantom Menace has had at least one major change since it was released. Although Obi-Wan cut off the bottom half of Darth Maul’s body, and Darth Maul then fell down a reactor shaft, he made an absolutely shocking return in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV show. Maul then went on to have a major arc in Star Wars Rebels and had a brief and surprising cameo in Solo: A Star Wars Story (although the latter confusingly seemed to go nowhere).
Interestingly, Maul’s retconned return was George Lucas’ own idea. In fact, Lucas had even mulled over making General Grievous secretly Darth Maul. Luckily, that plan was ditched, as it allowed Grievous to be his own character and Darth Maul to have his Clone Wars and Rebels arcs, consisting of taking over Mandalore and seeking revenge on Obi-Wan Kenobi. In the end, that was so much better than a General Grievous plot twist.
The Phantom Menace has had few other retcons and has in many ways held up. In fact, despite some pushback at the time, the movie beautifully springboarded off the original trilogy and set up some of Star Wars’ best stories. Truly, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is one of Star Wars’ most important movies.
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