A promotional cast photo from 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace resurfaced on Reddit, lending the 18-year-old photo a second life.
The still assembles core actors Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn), Natalie Portman (Padmé Amidala) and Jake Lloyd (Anakin Skywalker).
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The first of Star Wars creator George Lucas’ prequel trilogy, The Phantom Menace is famously controversial with fans: the oft-maligned blockbuster has since grossed over $1 billion worldwide, but is frequently derided as the worst installment of the long-running saga from a galaxy far, far away.
Lucas admitted in a DVD special feature that he “may have gone too far in a few places” with The Phantom Menace, particularly in the film’s bombastic, CGI-laden finale depicting the Gungan army at war with battle droids, young pilot Skywalker taking part in a high-flying space attack, Amidala infiltrating Naboo and Jedi duo Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon come to lightsaber blows with black-and-red-faced Darth Maul.
Neeson reprised his role as a disembodied Qui-Gon in the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars. McGregor lent his voice to Obi-Wan in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and has expressed interest in returning to an on-screen reprisal of the Jedi Knight.
A standalone Obi-Wan movie is in development from Disney-owned Lucasfilm, and McGregor is on record as saying he would be “happy to do it if they wanted to do it.”
Portman and Lloyd have since distanced themselves from Star Wars.
Portman won an Academy Award for her role in Black Swan and would later appear as romantic lead in Marvel Studios’ first two Thor movies.
Lloyd, then nine-years-old, was subjected to bullying — both in his personal life and online — following his role as a cheery young Anakin Skywalker, the future Darth Vader.
Hate aimed at Lucas’ prequel trilogy has been on the rise since the release of the controversial Star Wars: The Last Jedi, now playing.
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