Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) - 45 questions

Question: Does Darth Maul have any unique, personal reasons for hating the Jedi, or does he only hate them because Sidious has raised him to?

Answer: Maul was raised by Sidious since he was a young child. He only knew the Dark Side of the Force and its properties - anger, hatred, fear. He would be the equivalent of someone raised by a devoted Nazi: not knowing anything else, he would hate Jews.

Question: I noticed the number twenty thousand was mentioned twice (Anakin's midi-chlorian count and the amount of money that Qui-gon has while on Tattooine). Is there any trivia/meaning behind it?

Answer: Nope, it's just a coincidence, and not even a particularly good one as Anakin's midi-chlorian count is stated as being "over twenty thousand" rather than the exact number.

Question: I don't understand why Darth Maul talks about having revenge in this movie or why Episode III is called "Revenge of the Sith". I thought the original group of Sith all killed each other. I know that they want to destroy the Jedi, but how is that getting revenge for anything in particular?

Answer: The Sith and Jedi have been at war for millenia. Yes, there's always been infighting among the Sith as well, but the fact remains that their primary enemy has always been the Jedi. The Sith have been forced to hide away, working in the shadows, for a thousand years, because they lacked the power to eliminate the Jedi. Now, finally, they're in a position to do so. What else would you call it but revenge?

Question: I realise this has been brought up many times, but can it be considered a definite continuity error in the whole series that Obiwan Kenobi is trained by Qui Gon Jinn in this film, despite saying in Empire Strikes Back that it was Yoda who trained him? Some have argued that Qui was working under Yoda, but in Empire, Obiwan said to Yoda, "Was I any different when you taught me?" which to me pretty much says that Yoda was his direct teacher. I'm guessing that Lucas changed the background stories a bit, but I would like to know for sure.

Answer: No, it can't. As we see in Attack of the Clones, Yoda is in charge of training the younglings, the Jedi hopefuls, the ones too young to have been selected as a Padawan. Yoda trained Obi-Wan when he was a child, then Qui-Gon selected him as a Padawan as he reached the proper age. They both trained him, taking responsibility for different stages of his education. It is entirely possible, of course, that Lucas did originally intend Yoda to have been Obi-Wan's sole master when he made The Empire Strikes Back and thus your guess that he changed the background stories may well be accurate, however, if this is the case, then he made the alterations in such a fashion that no continuity error exists, because it all fits together.

Question: What is the awesome music being played while Qui-Gon Obi-Wan and Darth Maul are fighting? It is played during lightsaber duels in Episodes 2 and 3 as well.

Answer: The song is called "Duel of the Fates". Incidentally, the words being sung are Sanskrit. John Williams chose them purely for the way they sound and their meanings, whatever they are, are completely irrelevant to the song or the events.

Question: I once heard a sound file, on a website, of Darth Maul talking about fear. Was this part of a deleted scene?

Answer: "Fear. Fear attracts the fearful… the strong... the weak... the innocent... the corrupt. Fear. Fear is my ally." That was part of the promotional campaign for Episode I - there was a tone poem for the main characters, and that was Darth Maul's. They were just used for television ads, but are on the DVD.

Question: When Darth Sidious tells the Neimoidians that he will make their next move legal (at the beginning of the movie), don't they think that comment is strange, unless they know that he is also Senator Palpatine? They don't seem to wonder how he can make something legal.

Answer: They know that he's a powerful individual with some serious connections. While they obviously don't know his true identity, they clearly feel that he's capable of manipulating the Senate to that extent. While a degree of curiosity as to how would be entirely understandable, a general unwillingness to look too closely into the doings of a Sith Lord is also entirely understandable. They'd undoubtedly be curious, but either none of them are brave enough to ask Sidious, or they've learned from experience not to do so.

Question: Why do Darth Sidious and Nute Gunray care about getting the queen's signature on the treaty? Nute already allowed the Trade Federation to be on the planet illegally, so why doesn't the Federation just continue their occupation whether the treaty gets signed or not?

Answer: They can continue their occupation, but, without compliance from the elected head of state of Naboo, that occupation is illegal, and thus could face opposition from the Senate, leading to potential sanctions, up to and potentially including a military response to remove them. With Amidala's signature on the treaty, bringing Naboo into the Trade Federation properly, their occupation of the planet becomes entirely legal, allowing them to continue unhindered by Senate sanctions.

Question: What are the "accidents" that Jar-Jar caused and got banished for?

Answer: It's never stated in a canon source, but according to Wookipedia, the accidents were: (1) destroying a gasser oven during a party Boss Nass threw, and (2) crashing Boss Nass' heyblibber, which is essentially a more luxurious version of a Gungan Bongo.

Question: Obi-wan tells the Gungans that they are connected with the Naboo people, and that what happens to one will affect the other. How are the Gungans useful to the Naboo people?

Answer: Put simply, the two exist side-by-side on Naboo. Inevitably, choices made by one group will have an effect, major or minor, on the other, and if the two do not work together, this will invariably lead to friction between the races. While the details of what each group can bring to the arrangement remain unclear, what is undeniable is that the two races, and thus the planet itself, will be enhanced if the Naboo and the Gungans pool their efforts and collaborate.

Question: I've heard that you can see Prince Xizor on Coruscant somewhere in the movie. What scene is he in?

Answer: From Star Wars wiki: Xizor makes many cameo appearances during the podrace scene in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, as the micro-machine toy figurine of Xizor was used as a stand-in for members of the podrace crowd.[2] However, as this cameo is used only as background fill-ins, it may not be considered an actual appearance of the character proper. And under "appearances" he is listed as possible\debated for the film. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Prince_Xizor.

Question: Why didn't Maul take his cloak off when he fought Qui-Gon on Tattooine? It just seems kind of odd because it would probably (1) make you hotter as you move around in the sun and (2) make it harder to move around.

Answer: His Sith training would teach him to ignore the "pain" of the heat, and the cloak, like Jedi cloaks, are specifically desnigned not to limit movement. He attacked as he leapt off his speeder, so he wouldn't have had time to take it off anyway.

Question: I've read that Prince Xizor was thought to be at the pod race. I know that he's probably not there in the movie, but does anyone know if putting him in was ever considered?

Answer: The model of the pod race stands in the long shot used mostly colored Q-tips (cotton buds) as audience members, but tiny Micro-Machines action figures were also used, including the figures of Prince Xizor and Boba Fett. They can't be seen in the film, but you can see a close-up of the model in the "Making of" book.

Question: Is there any reason for Darth Maul only blinking once (like an ability that his species has to keep his eyes open for a while), or does the movie just happen to only show him blinking once?

Answer: An enemy just looks more menacing if he's always staring you down. I suppose that makes it more of a "Sith" thing than a "species" thing.

Question: How did the droid in the beginning of the film know that Qui-gon and Obi-wan were both Jedi?

Answer: Because word had arrived that two Jedi were arriving to handle the peace negotiations. When the two delegates then arrive, and both of them are wearing the distinct Jedi robes, with lightsabers in their belts, it is not exactly a difficult conclusion to draw.

Question: What is the relationship between the Trade Federation and the Senate? I mean I know that the Senate is supposed to be made up of representatives from planets in the Republic. But the TF also have representatives there. But the TF isn't just one planet is it? I thought that it was a company/organisation as such that encompassed lots of different planets (like the Federation in Star Trek)?

Answer: The Trade Federation started out as a loose confederation of merchants and shipping providers who banded together to ensure that they had effective control over trade routes throughout the galaxy. Under the leadership of the Neimoidians, they took precautions to maintain that control, including a substantial military to protect their interests. This ultimately gave them enough political clout to achieve representation in the Senate at the same level as a member world.

Question: Is it known why the TF followed the orders of Palpatine (when he looks like the emperor)? I believe that they set-up the blockade and invasion to try to get Amadala to sign the treaty to joint he TF. But still why would they do it just on his orders?

Answer: Palpatine (or Darth Sideous as the TF call him) is a master of using people to further his plans. The leaders of the TF are greedy and unscrupulous. Palpatine needs to destabalise the workings of the Senate enough to maneuver his way into being elected as Chancellor, so he presents the TF with a chance to make a lot of money by exploiting Naboo, knowing that the resulting conflict will generate sympathy for him in the senate, as a Naboo.

Question: Is Senator Palpatine the Senator of Naboo? If he is is he a native born 'Naboo-ian' as such?

Answer: He is indeed the Senator from Naboo and according to the official Star Wars databank, was born there.

Question: I have read that this film was not received well among SW fans. I first saw this in the cinema and thought it was great and even now I still consider it a really good film and I love all of the films as a whole. I am just wondering why it is considered not as good as the rest?

Answer: A lot of people felt that the more political nature of the film was inferior to the more swashbuckling feel of the original trilogy - after all, a trade dispute isn't inherently as entertaining as a rebellion against an evil Empire. They felt that the dialogue was rather clunky and delivered in a somewhat wooden fashion, which is in many ways a not unfair point, although the scripting accusation applies equally to the original trilogy (Lucas simply isn't a good writer of dialogue). In the end, the main problem was that, over the years, the original trilogy have gained an almost mythical status and have a substantial nostalgia factor, to the extent that a number of fans at the time were quoted as saying that the release of a new Star Wars film was to be a defining moment in their lives. The expectation levels were so high that it would have been impossible for any film, no matter how good, to live up to them - disappointment was inevitable.

Question: Darth Maul had to feel that Anakin was very Force-sensitive, so why would he almost hit him with his speeder (it looks intentional)? And why wouldn't he tell Darth Sidious about a very Force-strong boy being with the Jedi?

Answer: There is nothing to indicate that a Force-user should automatically detect Force sensitivity in others. In fact, in the books it is made very clear that this is not the case (as Luke has to discover a way for himself to detect potential Jedi candiates). As Anakin did not use the Force while Maul was present, Maul would not pick up any indication that Anakin could use it, and would therefore not suspect Anakin to be any more than a slave.