THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: THE MASTER PUPPETEER!

The shadowy but no less intimidating holo figure of the recently emergent Sith Lord, Darth Sidious relays his murderous and manipulative instructions to his Trade Federation allies, during the opening to EPISODE I. The ever-classy actor Ian McDiarmid reprises his villainous role onscreen sixteen years after Return of the Jedi.

"It only slowly dawned on me that if Darth Vader was really the worst creature, the most evil, the darkest, the blackest villain in movie history, I was worse than him. And I'm still slowly coming to terms with that, actually. I think my relationship with Satan is closer than I ever imagined it to be - as a character, I hasten to add."

Ian McDiarmid - US DVD press launch for EPISODE III - October 2005

Costume reference image of McDiarmid as Darth Sidious.

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: NEW DROID ON THE BLOCK!

John Fensom gets to discover what it was like for Anthony Daniels inside his Threepio costume when slipping inside the uncomfortable guise of Trade Federation Protocol Droid TC-14 (voiced with a polite American accent in post production by respected UK actress Lindsay Duncan). During the Leavesden Studios filming, Fensom would also provide various camera lighting stand-in duties for some of the EPISODE I cast.

TC-14 greets the Jedi 'Ambassadors' on their arrival in the Trade Federation battleship.

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: DAWN OF THE BATTLE DROID!

Onscreen, the Jedi would soon cut them down like butter, but that exciting first sneak peek of a Battle Droid, seen on a special US subscriber's cover for Star Wars Insider magazine back in 1998, was nonetheless impressive, especially riding its flying Stap vehicle, seen all too briefly on Naboo during the film's opening.

A terrific photoshop composition created by ILM (supervised by Dennis Muren), with background by Russ Kaiser.

EPISODE VIII: LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP!

Tense times loom for fighter ace Poe Dameron and the leader of whom he has so much respect for- General Leia Organa, as the Resistance decimation by the First Order continues during the troubling dramatic events of The Last Jedi.

Behind the scenes:
ttp://people.com/movies/oscar-isaac-recalls-surreal-experience-of-being-repeatedly-slapped-by-carrie-fisher/

All dances, smiles and kisses off the set for Carrie Fisher and Oscar Isaac, watched by Marilou Hamill.

EPISODE VII: SNEAK ATTACK!

Gutsy as ever within the hostile realms of Jakku's Niima Outpost, Rey fends off an attack from Unkar Plutt's goons, who are determined to take BB-8 from her, in this great action shot taken on location in Dubai for The Force Awakens.

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: TRADE POWER!

A forerunner to the immense and powerful Imperial Star Destroyers, a superbly detailed Trade Federation control ship is prepped for EPISODE I filming by ILM technicians, in which it will be one of the first enemy space vessels seen in the Prequels.

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: A LEGAL BLOCKADE?

'Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute. 

Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo.

While the congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events, the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict...'

EPISODE I opening title crawl - 1999

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: A PADAWAN DEBUTS!

"It's funny, because there are so many good bits about it (playing Obi-Wan Kenobi). The idea of being in it in the first place. I met the casting director (Robin Gurland) about a year and a half before we started filming, then met her again a year later. Then it was becoming more realistic, that it actually might be made. The nearer we got, the further down the line I got in the casting process, the more tantalizing it became. But just to be in it, and having been that little six-year old kid watching it in Scotland in 1977... then to be on set with R2-D2 and stuff... Every day there was a Star Wars moment. "Bloody hell," you say to yourself. "I'm in a Star Wars movie!" It was mad. And choosing my lightsaber. I got to choose my lightsaber handle..."

Ewan McGregor talking to Entertainment Tonight Online - 1999

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: 'EYES FORWARD'

'Don't look back, before you go. 
Eyes forward, choices to make.

Dreams to realize.

Don't look back, before you go.
Know the truth, learn to let go. 

Don't look back before you go. 

Before you leave...me.'

Shmi Skywalker's Episode I Tone Poem TV commercial - 'One Love' (1999):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qncLmkZl1B0

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: TO BE A JEDI...

The nobility and strength of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, as played by Liam Neeson. Image: Matthew Rolston.

'It will be a hard life. One without reward, without remorse, without regret. A path will be placed before you. The choice is yours alone. Do what you think you cannot do. 

It will be a hard life, but you will find out who you are.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQQE2gn-nEM

Qui-Gon Jinn - Episode One Tone Poem commercial: 'One Destiny' - 1999