Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Is Returning To Theaters For Its 25th Anniversary
Like yours truly, "Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace" turns 25 this year, Anno Domini 2024. Yes, it is finally the zillennials' chance to feel old.
To commemorate this anniversary, "The Phantom Menace" will be re-released in theaters on — when else? — the weekend of Saturday, May the 4th, aka "Star Wars Day" (though technically it opens on Friday, May 3, 2024), as confirmed by Empire. This re-release is only slightly ahead of the film's exact 25th anniversary; "The Phantom Menace" went wide on May 19, 1999. Seeing (and hearing) The Duel of the Fates on the big screen is definitely where the price of admission lies here.
"The Phantom Menace" was previously re-released in theaters, with a 3D conversion, way back in 2012. This is also part of an ongoing re-release of the "Star Wars" films. Last year in 2023, for instance, "Return of the Jedi" played in theaters for its 40th anniversary. I wouldn't be surprised if "Revenge of the Sith," which turns 20 in 2025, is the next "Star Wars" to march back onto the silver screen.
Disney/Lucasfilm have held off on any new "Star Wars" theatrical releases since 2019, and we'll be waiting until at least 2026 for the next "Star Wars" movie. For now, fans will just have to settle for reliving the classics — and yes, the prequels are now classics, specifically for the kids who grew up on them and still cherish them. Just wait until "The Last Jedi" turns 25.
Master of Star Wars posters
"The Phantom Menace" re-release comes with a new poster courtesy of artist Matt Ferguson. Ferguson has designed many "Star Wars" posters, including a trio of interconnecting ones for the original trilogy, one for the 40th anniversary of "The Empire Strikes Back," one for the aforementioned "Return of the Jedi" 2023 release, and one for "Rogue One" back during its original release in 2016. His talents aren't confined to the Skywalker Saga.
Lucasfilm
Ferguson's new "Phantom Menace" poster (seen above) echoes his "Empire" and "Jedi" ones. It's vertically composed with the heroes (Qui-Gonn, Obi-Wan, and Queen Amidala) hovering in the center. Above them is the gaze of the villain (Darth Maul with his piercing yellow eyes), and beneath them is the film's main setting, structured like a canyon with arches on both sides. In "Return of the Jedi," the setting is the forest moon Endor (giving the poster a green tint); for this poster it's the Tatooine desert and its yellow horizon. At the top of the poster is the anniversary text, and at the bottom is the film's title.
Ferguson's poster also has the original tagline of "The Phantom Menace" — "Every saga has a beginning." Hey, if it isn't broken, don't fix it.
"The Phantom Menace" returns to theaters on May 3, 2024.