"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

Rabid Star Wars enthusiasts had to wait sixteen years before they could learn how it all began. They sat patiently while the first three films were re-released, waiting diligently for Lucas to give them what they craved, the first three episodes of the series that told the story leading up to the events of one of the most successful films in all of film history. They got their wish finally, in 1999, with the release of Episode One: The Phantom Menace.

The heart-pounding hype that led to the release of this film was nothing short of amazing. When the trailer was released for the film, fans bought movie tickets just to see the preview, then left before even watching the film they paid for. Soon, the merchandising flood gates opened and stores were stocked with everything from action figures to video games and novelizations. Lines for the film materialized weeks before opening day as legions of fans held their breath in anticipation. And on May 19th, the film finally opened.

As the story begins, the planet Naboo has been successfully blockaded by the powerful Trade Federation and the Imperial Senate sends a group of Jedi Knights that includes a young Obi-Wan, to see if they can negotiate a solution to the situation. The Trade Federation has its own plans, the result of orders received from the sinister and mysterious Darth Sidious. The Jedi are attacked but manage to escape and head towards Naboo, with Federation droids hot on their trail. They encounter a floppy-eared and somewhat dim-witted Gungan named Jar Jar Binks, who helps them find their way to Naboo.

No sooner do they arrive than Federation forces invade and the Jedi group is forced to rescue Queen Amidala, leader of the planet. While attempting to escape, their spacecraft is damaged and they are forced to land on the nearby planet of Tatooine to make repairs. And it is here that the Jedi spot a young boy named Anakin Skywalker, a slave who shows potential to be mightiest of all Jedi warriors. As the result of a pod race, the boy manages to win his freedom, and sets out with his new friends to the Coruscant, where the Jedi Counsel and Imperial Senate are located.

Meanwhile, Naboo’s Senator Palpatine manages to get himself elected chancellor of the Imperial Senate, resulting in a new massive battle to be waged on Naboo. While the Gungans are battling troops of droids, Amidala and her troops are trying to recapture the palace, Jedi Wui-Gon and Obi-Wan are confronted by Darth Maul, the terror-inducing apprentice of Darth Sidious, and even young Anakin gets himself involved in a deadly space battle…by accident.

This new Star Wars offering immediately demonstrated the leaps and bounds made in special effects technology since the original film was released. Audiences jaws dangled as they were bombarded with never-ending spectacular imagery and got caught up in the swashbuckling space adventure just as earlier moviegoers had in 1977. This was Star Wars for a new generation and it quickly proved itself as a formidable box-office blockbuster in its own right. Sure there were some disappointed die-hard devotees to the series, sure there were those annoyed to no end by the child-appropriate humor of Jar Jar Binks, but none of that hindered Episode One: The Phantom Menace from becoming the second biggest box-office hit worldwide, (second only to Titanic.) Star Wars was back on the block, and with two more films already in production, the surrounding mania would continue for years.