Movies - TV
Does A Six-Hour Cut Of The Phantom Menace Really Exist?
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
Although initially beloved, "The Phantom Menace" quickly soured in the mind of the public, and over the course of the following few years, transformed into one of the most hated blockbusters of its era. However, Jake Lloyd, who played young Anakin Skywalker in the movie, revealed that there exists a six-hour cut of the film that is much better than the original version.
Lloyd told ThatShelf.com, "Matthew Wood, the guy who did the voice of Grievous, he was one of the first people to watch the six-hour cut and said it was 'mind-blowingly awesome.'" This seems to be the only reference to a six-hour cut, though. The film’s theatrical running time is only 136 minutes, which would mean there are about 224 minutes of missing footage out there.
On FanEdit.com, many amateur "Star Wars" cuts are laid out in detail, but none come close to a six-hour running time or seemingly have gained access to any of the mythical missing minutes. Drafts of Lucas’ script average around 146 pages, where typically one page equals one minute of screen time, so to make it six hours, it would need more dialogue, characters, and subplots.
The length of Lloyd’s claim — six hours! — is enough to elicit suspicion. Even workprints, if that was what Lloyd was hinting at, are usually only double the length of the final cut and aren't really a complete film. So, a six-hour cut of "The Phantom Menace" probably doesn’t exist, and one might think Lloyd was misled as to its existence.