New cast, new characters…well, not all new, and that was one of the best parts. The return to the franchise’s live action features meant fans got to see many of their favourite characters again, including R2-D2, C-3PO and a younger version of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
In anticipation of The Phantom Menace’s release renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz took breathtaking shots of the actors in the Tunisian desert, where they were filming. Sixteen years later she’s done the same for The Force Awakens – visually bookmarking these moments in cinematic history.
Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace will be aired on the following dates on the M-Net Movies Star Wars Pop Up Channel on DStv 109:
Thursday 3 September, 06:00 and 19:30
Sunday 6 September, 15:20
Thursday 10 September, 10:00 and 20:00
Sunday 13 September, 14:45
Year of release: 1999
Director: George Lucas
Production budget: $115 million
How much did it make at the box office worldwide: $1.027 billion
Best quote: “There’s always a bigger fish.”
Best good guy: Qui-Gon Jin
Best bad guy: Darth Maul
Celebrity Fan: Emma Stone
The actress and Star Wars’ fan donned the Leia hairdo in 2011 in order to join other celebrities in the Star Wars Stands Up to Cancer video.
Did you know?
It’s the first movie in the franchise to show each activation and deactivation of a lightsaber. In the original trilogy this usually happened off-screen, because the lightsabers had to be physically switched from a lightsaber hilt to a lightsaber hilt with the blade inserted.
We love it for:
- The make-up and costumes
- Anakin Skywalker’s pod race
- Lightsaber battles which included a dual-sided blade used by Darth Maul
Behind the Scenes
Don’t miss out on any of the Star Wars sagas with DStv Catch-Up. Only available on the DStv Explora to DStv Premium customers from 31 August.
For even more magic, follow all the Star Wars action on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #MNetStarWars. You’ll also find us on WeChat on the ID mnettv.
Don’t forget you can download the M-Net app for Apple and Android. Planning your M-Net Star Wars viewing has never been so easy!