Question: This is more of a general question for the franchise. What happens if Jedi discover children who have Force ability, but they are in stable, happy families? We see situations where Jedi were found as orphans, i.e. after battles, or a parent is glad to give their child a better life, as Shmi Skywalker did. But this can't be the case for everyone.
Question: Had Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan been able to both survive and defeat Maul, would this mean Sidious would not be able to manipulate Anakin anymore? Or would the Sith Lord have simply tried a different plan, besides emotional manipulation, to try to trick an Anakin trained under Qui-Gon into the dark side?
Answer: I don't think his plans would change. Qui-Gon is just another Jedi Master training Anakin, nothing much different because Obi-Wan was trained by him as well, after all. Plus, Qui-Gon much more believes Anakin is the chosen one, so he would probably allow Anakin a lot more than Obi-Wan would, including his relationships with Palpatine and Padme, which both are more important for Anakin's switch to the dark side.
I (not who submitted the question) wonder if Palpatine actually wanted Darth Maul to be killed by Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, or both. It seems like he mostly trained Maul to fight. Maul seemed to know little about the plotting, scheming, and political dealings. Dooku was capable in those areas, and was skilled at fighting. He was probably more useful while Palpatine waited to turn Anakin.
Not sure about that. I think he genuinely thought Darth Maul was properly trained to defeat Jedi. I don't think Palpatine planned ahead in terms of apprentices, except Anakin. But Darth Maul was before he knew Anakin. I don't think Sith are easy to find either, so Palpatine needed Maul for a lot of things more than just kill Jedi. It is too convenient however that every apprentice he had served his plans perfectly. Because I don't see Maul lead the separatists.
I was under the impression that Palpatine knew about Anakin ever since Shmi was chosen to be Anakin's mother. I might be wrong. This is an interesting discussion, though - I appreciate your response. Some think that Maul had limited use of the Force and was more of a trained assassin. But, if that were true, why call him a Sith apprentice? As you say, it's hard to imagine him being a Separatist leader.
I do not have any knowledge regarding any books written or other sources that might be considered canon, as have been mentioned in other comments here recently. My knowledge is purely the movies. As per the movies, Palpatine only learned of Anakin after the Battle of Naboo.
Question: Why does Darth Maul have almost no dialogue?
Answer: Probably because Ray Park, who portrayed Darth Maul, was not a professional actor, but a martial arts expert and stuntman who was recruited for the film. Another actor, Peter Serafinowicz, voiced what little dialogue there was.
Answer: The comment by RayWest is a good possible behind-the-scenes reason. Also, I think Darth Maul had been raised by Palpatine/Darth Sidious from a young age, unless that is no longer canon. Unlike Vader and Tyranus, who join Sidious as adults, Maul has almost no interests nor associations with others. He is focused on serving his master because it's all he knows. This could be why he says very little to others - he has no desire, nor much knowledge, about how to interact with them. But again, I am not sure exactly what is canon now.
Question: According to Captain Panaka and Qui-Gon, if the Hutts discover Queen Amidala on Tattooine, it will be just like landing on a planet controlled by the Federation. Why would they care about her? What would they do?
So the Federation was probably offering a bounty/reward for her capture?
Question: What did Anakin's torpedoes hit that caused the droid control ship to explode?
Answer: It was the main reactor of the ship, according to wookieepedia.
I have a problem with that because realistically would destroying a reactor be enough to cause whatever it powers to explode?
Not sure why you have a problem with that notion. It's a common sci-fi convention/trope that destroying the main reactor of a ship usually causes a chain-reaction that destroys the entire vessel. That's also what destroyed both Death Stars in the original trilogy. (Luke fires a missile into the reactor through an exhaust port/Lando and the others fly into the core and destroy the main reactor.) This is not a documentary... it can operate by nebulous sci-fi rules. Not to mention, none of these things actually exist, so who's to say destroying the main reactor WOULDN'T destroy the ship?
It destroyed the main reactor of the droid control ship itself, not what it powers. Anakin was inside the ship and blew it up from the inside.
If you go by official books put out you see lots of ships in Star Wars are powered by a gas type fuel source. Taking out a reactor could cause that fuel to explode as well. As you see in the movie it not one big boom but a lot of little ones at 1st. But once that fire gets to the main tanks it's all over.
Question: Is it true that Peter Serafinowicz voiced Darth Maul because Ray Park's voice was too squeaky?
Answer: Ray Park's film work has mostly been as a stunt double and not as a speaking actor. Peter Serafinowicz has extensive experience as both an actor and doing voice-over work. He was better able to vocalize the Darth Maul character. It's fairly common in films (particularly sci-fi and fantasy) for minor character's voices to be dubbed over by other actors. Many movie scenes are filmed without sound and the dialogue and sound effects are added in post-production. Many actors dub over their own voices for better sound quality.
Question: Why does Darth Maul just stand there and watch Obi-Wan flip over him and then bisect him? As a Sith, Maul had plenty of time to react to what Obi-Wan was doing, and his training means he shouldn't have been surprised by it either.
Answer: It was meant to be very fast. It couldn't be so fast that the audience would have no idea what was happening, so we wind up with an awkward scene where Darth Maul literally watches Obi-Wan flip over his head. He never even notices that Obi-Wan has Qui-Gonn's lightsaber. He seems quite shocked that Obi-Wan was even able to get above him at all.
Answer: In the book, The Life and Legacy of Obi-wan Kenobi, it actually talks about this a little bit. Darth Maul wasn't expecting this move, and it caught him by surprise. Obi-wan was hanging on for life down below, and to Maul's mind there wasn't a way he could really get back up, much less armed. One thing to consider is the fact that Darth Maul is actually pretty weak in using the Force compared to most other notable Force users. He's mostly a martial artists, and a damn good one to, having extraordinary combat ability to the point he can fend off a Jedi Knight and a Padawan at at the same time. But his actual strength in the force is weak, where he's only able to lift/push small objects or do a Force jump. He didn't predict, or "foresee" Obi-wan's move. Nor could he sense that Obi-wan was moving the light saber on the ground next to him, and would never have guessed that not only Obi-wan would Force jump out like that so suddenly, but also grab a saber at the same time and go for a swing.
I remember at least two books - which may not be canon now - describing Maul as prideful. It seems like he was quite skilled in fighting, as you say, but he underestimated opponents.
Answer: I always saw it as Maul didn't realise Kenobi was going for the lightsaber at the same time and the whole move was suicidal from Maul's point of view. His lack of reaction is him being stunned by what he sees as Obi-Wan just jumping in front of him to be attacked.
Question: Why would the Trade Federation need the queen to sign a treaty to make their invasion legal if they've already invaded the place and taken over anyway?
Question: What exactly was the Federation treaty (main subject of the movie)?
Answer: The treaty would have been an agreement between the Trade Federation and the Sovereign Planet Naboo that would have in effect legitimized the invasion of Naboo. The actual content of the treaty itself has never been elaborated upon, however it is clear that it would have given the Trade Federation substantial control over Naboo. Padme goes to the Senate to argue that the invasion of Naboo is an illegal act (it is) but the Senate is unmoved by her testimony and defers action until they can determine if an invasion has even taken place.
Question: Is Palpatine's identity a spoiler? The Episode IV-VI movies never mention the Emperor's name. In Episodes I-III, we can guess that Darth Sidious will be the emperor, but what about Chancellor Palpatine? If the audience didn't know that he was Sidious, the impact of the reveal would be far different than if they did.
Answer: This can vary from viewer to viewer. Before "The Phantom Menace" came out, I already knew Emperor Palpatine's name because I had the Kenner action figure of him, plus I knew the same actor was playing both characters. Someone else who may not be an astute viewer might not have known, though I find it hard to believe they wouldn't put all the pieces together by the time "Revenge of the Sith" came out.
Question: What did Palpatine mean when he said to Anakin, "We will watch your career with great interest"?
Answer: I believe the line was meant as foreshadowing so fans would get it if they have watched the original trilogy they can make the connection from Anakin to Vader so they are aware of his fate. It also shows that Palpatine had his eye on Anakin for a long time to eventually recruit him as his apprentice.
Question: Is there any information given about what happened to Maul's ship after his defeat on Naboo?
Answer: According to information found on Star Wars Wookiepedia, Darth Maul's ship, known as a Scimitar, fell into the possession of Darth Sidious after he was defeated on Naboo. Source: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Scimitar.
Question: Anakin's mom says the Republic doesn't exist on Tatooine. Why not?
Answer: It's in the Outer Rim territories. It's far enough away from the central government that they can't really have an effective government. In addition, it's in Hutt-controlled space.
Why not send people to take control of Tatooine, and the outer rim territories away from the hutts?
The Republic has the task of running an entire galaxy, which is billions and billions of planets and solar systems. Sending troops into the Outer Rim, against heavily armed gangsters and with little to no communication, enough resources or backup, would be a terrible plan. At least the Hutts keep things running smoothly and don't let the planets go into anarchy.
Question: After R2-D2 helps fix the escaping ship, Queen Amidala thanks the droid in front of Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and her handmaidens, but Amidala's decoy refers to her handmaiden as Padme. Why doesn't she refer to her as Sabe? Doesn't everyone know that Queen Amidala's first name is Padme?
Answer: Padme was impersonating a handmaid, using her real name. Sabe was playing her role of Queen Amidala. This was unknown to Qui-Gon.
But the point is that using the queen's real name seems like it's giving the game away a bit.
Question: What happened to Qui Gon Jinn's lightsaber?
Chosen answer: Obi-Wan used it until he made himself a new one. Then it was presumably turned over to the Jedi Temple.
Question: How exactly is the level of Jedi knight different to padawan learner apart from having a padawan of their own?
Chosen answer: A padawan is an apprentice Jedi. They are still learning and haven't mastered the skills needed to go out on their own. Once a padawan has passed the trials, a series of tests designed to test the Jedi against what they will face in the universe, they can receive a promotion to knight. Knights are able to be sent out on missions alone. Padawans are not.
Question: After the council decides to not train Anakin and Qui-Gon decided to train Anakin himself why does Obi-Wan look like he was betrayed?
Chosen answer: Obi-Wan didn't feel betrayed, he was dismayed at Qui Gon once again openly defying the word of the council. The two disagree on Anakin and Kenobi feels that were Qui Gon to simply follow the rules, he would have been on the council by now.
Question: I read that Qui-Gon was never offered a seat on the council but why? He seems old enough.
Chosen answer: Obi-Wan implies Qui Gon's idealism and rebellious nature keep him from being offered a seat on the council. Kenobi specifically brings this up when Qui Gon states that he will defy the council and train Anakin himself. Apparently not following orders is somewhat common for Qui Gon.
Question: Hypothetically speaking, if Amidala did sign the treaty, how would that affect later events eventually leading up to the establishment of the Galactic Empire?
Answer: In the long run, nothing would have changed. A war would still break out between the Republic and CIS, leading to Palpatine gaining power and subsequently becoming Emperor. The specifics may change, but the long-term outcome would not. It would, however, cause Amidala to not meet Anakin, and subsequently he would not become Darth Vader in an attempt to save her.
Answer: Jedi don't only go for the ones that are orphans, but they are the most likely to be taken in by the order, since they offer them a home and goal in life. When a child is showing he or she is force-sensitive, any legal guardian could or would contact the Jedi to find out more, possibly allow that child to be trained to become a Jedi, but it is not required. The order is basically a boarding school, or military school; the younglings can still see their parents, but not for too long. It's the choice of the parents, and later the child itself, whether or not to continue with the training. During the time of the Republic, the Jedi order even checked children for force-sensitivity and consulted the parents about training to gain new recruits.
lionhead