THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: OF BEAST AND BURDEN!

The hyperdrive has been delivered from a bankrupt, now debt ridden Watto, but there's still unfinished and important business to settle requiring Qui-Gon's immediate return to Mos Espa, as George Lucas directs Liam Neeson for his Eopie travelling scene on location in Tunisia.

A behind the scenes image also captured by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair magazine's coverage of EPISODE I.

A closer look at the CGI design of one of the Eopies of Tatooine.

As seen in the finished movie.

"(Working with digital creatures added later.) You felt like a pillock sitting there in 150 degrees heat. You have to turn your body then they cut and the magicians do their stuff afterwards."

Liam Neeson - Film Review magazine - 1999

Further filming of Qui-Gon atop the beast was shot on Blue-screen at Leavesden upon the crew's return from Tunisia, literally Liam Neeson once more atop a stirrup and scaffold.

Scripted but excised was a moment where one of Darth Maul's Sith Probe Droids discovers the location of the Naboo Cruiser from a far hill, seeing Qui-Gon heading back to Mos Espa.

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: HANGAR ARRIVAL!

The crowds are gathering and so too are Anakin's friends and family inside the arena's main hangar area. With Watto being too confident and arrogant, Shmi is nervous about her son, as too is Padme, soon discovering that Anakin has never actually won or completed a previous pod racing event! The omens are now not looking so good!

Pernilla August and Dhruv Chanchani await the filming of their scene on the hangar set at Leavesden.

Shmi and Qui-Gon exchange warm greetings.

Lucas goes through a scene with Liam Neeson and the child actors.

Qui-Gon has high hopes that Anakin will ultimately win the race.

BEHIND THE SCENES: WHERE'S MY EOPIE?

This is one of those challenging times in making a STAR WARS film when an actor really has to stretch his imagination, as Liam Neeson discovers, riding a yet to be animated Eopie, for a Tatooine based sequence of EPISODE I.