Phantom Menace at 25: Why We Can Thank (and Blame) Episode I for the Modern Blockbuster | Star Wars

A not so long time ago in a galaxy very close by, the idea of new entries in blockbuster franchises that were guaranteed to be the biggest movies of the year wasn’t actually a given. Extravagantly expensive, four-quadrant, IP-based entertainment may be the lay of the land today, but rolling the clock back even a quarter of a century shows a very different world for big budget filmmaking. Believe it or not, science-fiction and superhero franchises weren’t all the rage, studio movies didn’t always cost obscene amounts, and the entirety of the Star Wars saga consisted of three theatrical films (and no, the Holiday Special and Ewok movies don’t count).
But all of that changed on May 19th, 1999, when George Lucas and 20th Century Fox released Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. What was at the time merely a highly anticipated continuation of one of the most iconic film trilogies in Hollywood history has proven to have possibly been the landmark moment that distinguished how movies were made in the 20th century versus the 21st.
For an entire generation of younger filmgoers, knowing the summer months will be dominated by new installments in long-running franchises that build elaborate sagas out of their favorite fictional worlds has been the status quo for as long as they’ve been alive. But this was not the world in which The Phantom Menace was released, where it was actually something of an anomaly. Not that franchises with many installments were unheard of (there were 5 Planet of the Apes films, 9 Star Trek movies, 20 James Bond films, and 23 Godzilla movies by the time Episode I was released), but more so that serialized storytelling, where franchise films acted less as standalone entries but more as chapters of an overarching narrative, was rare in mainstream film in 1999.
Part of that was related to technology; before the rise of the home video market and the internet, tracking down every entry of a franchise could be difficult, so it was more prudent to not bank on the audience having seen all of the previous installments. But in the lead-up to the 2000s, it became easier than ever to learn about and access older films, creating a golden opportunity for studios and filmmakers who had dreamed of crafting operatic cinematic storytelling on a grand scale to finally realize their ambitions. Expecting general audiences to be capable of keeping up not just with multi-film continuity but also more complex lore and in-universe mythology was now a viable approach. In the same way that George Lucas helped codify the mold for summer blockbusters with the original Star Wars film in 1977, so too did he capitalize on the shifts in technology and its effects on the widespread social reorganization of how we consume stories near the turn of the millennium with Star Wars: Episode 1 in 1999.
From a focus on serialized storytelling with deep lore and mythology, the science-fiction, superhero and cinematic universe boom ascending to the top of the box office, heavy VFX integration with the aim to transport audiences to wholly new worlds, and even negative instances like backlash from fandoms to perceived problems having an impact on future installments and a predisposition towards nostalgia when bringing back fan-favorite franchises, The Phantom Menace preceded and informed pretty much every blockbuster trend that took hold over the past two decades and change. How did this happen? Let’s take a look.
#IGN #StarWars

[@salustianoberrios405]

Time treated this movie well.

[@nocheckmarkgames]

idk, that CGI is lookin PS2ish.

[@SondreSolvang]

@@nocheckmarkgames That’s because they have scrubbed of all the film grain then put on a waxy filter and screwed the colors up just to give it a more modern look. It’s not the cgi that has aged badly, it is bad restoration by Lucasfilm. Such a shame because it was the last movie to be shot at 35 mm if you don’t count TFA

[@ardent835]

​@nocheckmarkgames Exactly, considering the fact that Matrix came out the same year as The Phantom Menace and still looks way better than all the prequels.

[@HistoryTeacherSteve]

​@@nocheckmarkgamesimage judging a film based on cgi instead of narrative design. you must be 12

[@Bloodynine606]

@@HistoryTeacherStevethe “narrative design” is literally one of the worst ever lmao

[@TheSpeedfoever]

Happy 25th anniversary to phantom menace! Love it to this day!

[@YeTism]

Still better than every Disney Star Wars movie

[@darthprime163]

Rogue one is much better 😂

[@benwasserman8223]

It’s not and you know it.

[@ziggystardust1973]

The prequels are a more coherent trilogy, but these movies are still bad, just in a diffrent way from the sequels

[@benwasserman8223]

@@ziggystardust1973 It wasn’t really cohesive until TCW. Like no one believed Anakin’s turn to the Dark Side when it happened- it was too quick.

[@darthprime163]

@@benwasserman8223 yeah it is, better cinematography, acting, action scenes, character development.

[@ade1174]

The start of the film, the podracing sequence, and the final duel against Darth Maul still hold up to this day.

[@eddiecruz9683]

Phantom menace gave us darth maul. That movie will always have a special place for me.

[@Person-wz6iy]

Jake's mum recently revealed that the hate had nothing to do with his current state, and that he had Schizophrenia, which would've happened either way. He's doing better now thankfully, and she kept him off the internet.

[@filoudiver]

was awesome then, awesome now!

[@bradleyc328]

Pod Racing scene is the best scene in Star Wars

[@chaosreaper9255]

Episode 1 will always be a classic one and have one of the best fight scenes ever.

[@rasalpaul4574]

This movie still amazing.

[@The1SquishyGamer]

phantom menace has always been my favorite star wars movie

[@Zachthe504]

We need you Georgie Won Kenobi..you’re our only hope…

[@hunterolaughlin]

Actually, R2-D2’s connection to Obi-Wan does make sense and doesn’t contradict much of the original trilogy. In the original film, C-3PO claimed R2-D2 was “property of Obi-Wan Kenobi” and R2-D2 being so earnest in finding him, so the original trilogy establishes R2-D2 knew Obi-Wan sometime before the events of the original trilogy. Sure, Obi-Wan claiming “he doesn’t remember ever owning a droid before” does come off as puzzling, but the implications that R2-D2 and Obi-Wan had SOME history together is there in the original film.

[@docholiday7490]

Disney made these movies feel like masterpieces after they beat Star Wars to death.

[@AngelPerez-tu1nk]

Hahahahahaha Oh wait you were serious? Let me laugh even harder HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA😂😂😂

[@dennydude]

So true. Anyone that thought the prequels were bad changed their minds with Ray (destroyer of dreams)

[@Fatsaver]

@@AngelPerez-tu1nk ''Somehow Palpatine returned''

[@Viltzu-hk5wh]

Yup... Well, that and the Clone Wars show.

[@AngelPerez-tu1nk]

@@Viltzu-hk5whAside from the Clone Wars all of you clowns are hilariously beyond help XD. You are objectively wrong, deal with it xD

[@Alex_Logan22]

The only trend it started was relying on IP for blockbusters, the blockbuster itself was going strong without it, Matrix had a more profound impact on cinema just months before it.

[@terrymcginnis1990]

Phantom menace may be flawed, but it's still miles ahead of anything disney did.

[@amirmoradi9595]

100000% agree

[@boxchevyrollin]

So now everybody like the prequel trilogy😂i always liked them

[@tay.vzns00]

Funny cuz the prequels only got more love and popular with time

[@nateman79]

Disney Star Wars makes this a come off as a certified masterpiece

[@AngelPerez-tu1nk]

Boy you need help. Start by leaving your mom's basement

[@dudujencarelli]

10:15 - That is a mistake. The Naboo capital, Theed, was created by building actual models. ILM's John Knoll even gave an interview this week about that process.

[@leftyfourguns]

Very ironic that the "video gamey", "death to real cinema" prequel movies have more on-location filming and practical special effects than any modern Disney production

[@knosmith1720]

phantom menace still FEELS like star wars

[@newhere2419]

within a minute this guy is wrong. The Phantom Menace was not an obscenely priced movie. it was 115 miliion, and Lucas had a budget . smh

[@JediRyu99]

Classic and Epic Star Wars…90%

[@warlordwest7673]

An actual Classic!

[@Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache]

If Episode One can be thanked now, time wiII make it so that eventually, the same wiII be done for the Sequel Trilogy. That's the timeline l'm Iiving in.

[@dennydude]

What? That would mean the next three films are going to be worse.

[@Tyler-Clark]

Delusional take. The sequels did nothing to advance filmmaking nor even the SW story. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull isn't viewed more favorably now than it was back then and with the passing of time Episodes VII, VIII & IX won't be viewed more favorably either.

[@IcyPolarBear369]

My Star Wars movie rankings: OT, PT, Rogue One, Solo, ST.

[@zenicehero9154]

SW Phantom Menace is Still better than the Rey Trilogy

[@ratchet2505]

F I feel old now

[@StirFryChicken]

How did Palpatine return?

[@MatiZ815]

In the sequels? Transferred his spirit to the cloned body.

[@ParkersPlayground]

Mind uploading, that’s how

[@Caine_west]

Somehow

[@johnniewaiker6203]

With project project necromancer

[@stuartbagley2586]

“Somehow”

[@damien2729]

No one to blame but Disney, We thank and appreciate Episode 1, it ushered in two decades of amazing Content, until Disney got ahold of it

[@troublesome1101]

Darth Maul 👹

[@KungFuHotdog]

Jar-Jar Binks was terrible but this is still still better than garbage Disney Star Wars.

[@JedimillerReturns]

That was the idea. For him to be terrible. So obi wan could learn a lesson. Guess u didn't get the movie. Grow up

[@fredeblob]

More stuff like this IGN!! Nice video

[@kingshadow8782]

🎉

[@gabrielscoccola5960]

Why would the prequels popularize the concept of serialized blockbuster movies more than the ORIGINAL trilogy? Episode 4 works as a standalone, but empire strikes back only works as a middle act in the trilogy.

[@unkles]

"Have a pizza roll' - Mr. Plinkett

[@vyshakreghukumar995]

Mesa thinks yousa saying nonsensa!!! 😂 1999's path-breaking movie that changed Hollywood was The Matrix.

[@MsUltraBob]

14:38 WTF xD

[@Fuuntag]

IGN is adorable when it tries to think. ❤

[@Person-wz6iy]

It should be illegal to hate the prequels.

[@SonicTheBlueBlur15]

Fr

[@borismuller86]

Ha. How discourse changes.

[@prestonrussell1913]

why a lot of people just hate bad directing and awful writing, is that such a crime?

[@DoomiePookie]

Sith is just incredible

[@garytheman1129]

THIS THE MUMMY 1999 AND END OF DAYS BEFORE MILLENIUM

[@philipberlanda]

It's hard to say if it was star wars episode one that truely inspired hero movies to become a thing. I'd say that would be down to batman movies and spider man. You could maybe claim that star wars episode one was enough of a success for other movies to be made with more CGI and fantasy based then a movie based on an historical event. Realilistic concept of a story.

[@JogBird]

it costs like $50 now for two ppl to see a movie.. no thanks im done w movies in general

[@goncaloguimaraes4185]

What ? isnt it like 7.50 each

[@plankton2878]

@@goncaloguimaraes4185every theater around me is $15+ per ticket

[@drunkdonutboy]

It's not that much but the quality of movies has dropped

[@xenomorphlover]

Don't forget the blatant wokeness 😒

[@-Anonymous-.]

No it doesn’t. Exaggeration only makes life harder

[@joejoe2658]

DISNEY MURDERED STAR WARS.

[@nocheckmarkgames]

my thing is, I'm not gonna go see it in theatres just for the sake of it. 25 years and they couldnt even throw a new texture pack over it....

[@PandemoniumPirateRadio]

Visually it's still the best Star Wars movie though. The effects hold up better than any of the other movies 😐 Because it was the first Prequel movie, the pre production was way longer and detailed for this than for the second and third prequel films. It holds up. Storytelling wise however, it's still the same ol mess. That's the thing they should have changed. And probably will in about 2-4 years when AI makes alterations to cinema movies become easy.

[@captaindark9668]

When did IGN hire Yung Gravy.

[@chrisburns514]

Still the best Prequel

[@anuarcasanova6005]

As a 90’s kid my top list from Star Wars movies is: Episode 3 Episode 1 Episode 2 Rogue One Episode 6 Episode 5 Episode 4 And the last 3 just doesn’t for me😂

[@prestonrussell1913]

What why, do you like bad writing?

[@Dobbythecat123]

@@prestonrussell1913he said he didn’t

[@kmcardoza1]

Why’s the original trilogy so low??

[@IcyPolarBear369]

Where's Solo bro

[@kn0ck2wice2]

Jar jar curses started here!!!

[@Gundam79]

Yes, you have Phantom Menace to thank for the four Alien films, four Batman films, four Ninja Turtles films, four Superman films, four Dirty Harry films, and four Death Wish films that also came before it... Franchises are so so rare.

[@Lorfarius]

This is garbage. Independence Day was out years before this and was a true summer blockbuster, they were doing this as a thing years before the likes of Phantom Menace.

[@jonnywildbuns]

Star Wars is like the Avatar Movies now. Great Visuals. But the Stories are just not captivating or intriguing for some reason.

[@saints30504]

These movies were hated so much when they dropped but now that the haters see it can be soooooooooooooooo much worse, these movies are masterpieces. Funny how time works against the human mind.

[@AngelPerez-tu1nk]

Sure Jan

[@prestonrussell1913]

they are not by any means masterpieces, they have bad directing and some of the worst writing ever put to screen

[@nebula9061]

Why does this guy look like the tech bro version of Logan Paul

[@Patrick-wl6pw]

Better new star War

[@Patrick-wl6pw]

Ign bad take

[@poopedcheetah2]

u couldn't find someone who was actually alive through the 90s to do this video instead of a 20 year old kid

[@scrubsscrubs694]

There is no such thing as a modern blockbuster. There hasnt been a blockbuster in over 10 years

[@prestonrussell1913]

bro what

[@SikhiJedi]

You’re actually slightly wrong about the reason why lightsaber combat got better. It wasn’t because of the crouching tiger film, it was due to Akira Kowasowa films Lucas was a fan off and being able to mirror those more closely with the change of what they were using for sabers

[@HistoryTeacherSteve]

was this presenter even alive in 1999?

[@vvrr6dif]

Looks old

[@Henry-kz4gn]

even though english was spoken before, the phantom menace laid the ground work for people speaking english

[@ZeroGreyWolf]

Generation victim playing the blame game again

[@PLAYER_42069]

This entire video is full of hypocrisy & uninformed opinion. It states, PM ushered in serialized storytelling, when they state moments before big franchises like Star Trek - That had a multi-movie story arc with Spock - Had it decades before. They also claim, sci-fi and over the top stylized action became mainstream after PM when, again, it shows actual examples of things that came before it like Independence Day. Also, the narration has way too many run on sentences. Whoever wrote this didn't read it out loud because there are ideas that should be single sentences for emphasis.

[@Kdawg1287]

Disney and their homosexual selves killed Star Wars.

[@Winterfang]

Crazy how the prequels followed the same formula as the sequels. 1-a bombastic return to form with increíble special effects 2- an absolute shitfest of a sequel that killed all interest in the franchise. 3-a mixed review movie with some fans, that works the best it can with the material it has. Gets remembered more fondly as time passes.

[@dredddpatrol]

here's a crazy thought ..... PM is as bad as dial of destiny

[@sreyangovender3404]

This movie was terrible! I'm not thanking it for anything 😡

[@SmashBrosAssemble]

25 years on, it’s still the most Boring Dull Flat film you can possibly imagine.

[@AngelPerez-tu1nk]

Don't get it twisted by pathetic nostalgia, thus movie is still a borefest and created the Fandom Menace, but at least it eventually led to the Clone Wars, Plus it gave us Qui-Gon and Padme

[@Person-wz6iy]

The Fandom Menace only came about after TLJ, and people can have nostalgia for TPM, no matter what you think of it.

[@BigAl4244]

Just saw it with my nephews. We loved it.

[@AngelPerez-tu1nk]

@@Person-wz6iy It's still objectively bad. Deal with it

[@AngelPerez-tu1nk]

@@BigAl4244 Yeah you all suffer from terminal brain damage

[@AngelPerez-tu1nk]

@@BigAl4244 And you all need help xD

[@Arkham33]

TPM gave us Darth Maul, that is all.