Star Wars Fan Re-Edits The Phantom Menace as a Political “Thriller”

As fans of Star Wars well know, The Phantom Menace is essentially the first chapter of an origin story for Darth Vader. Over the course of the film 1999 film, fans are first introduced to young Anakin Skywalker as he leaves his home on Tatooine to be trained as a Jedi. But The Phantom Menace also has a political element to it, with the film also following the rise of then-senator Palpatine and the efforts of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn to protect young Queen Amidala in the hope of reaching a peaceful end to a huge trade dispute. It’s that trade dispute that one fan decided to focus on in what might be one of the more unique — and interestingly entertaining — fan edits of the film.

Over on Twitter, Olaf Falafel shared his own recut of The Phantom Menace that removes pretty much all of the Anakin and Jedi elements of the film, leaving only the bits with the trade dispute and politics behind. The result is a political “thriller” of sorts that is probably best seen to be believed. Check it out below.

Now, there are a couple of things to note about the edit. The video runs for only two minutes and twenty seconds which is the platform’s limit for video length. Per Falafel, that means he had to omit some “really juicy Trade Federation motions being debated.” Beyond that, though, it’s actually rather interesting to see that major element of the film broken down. As one fan noted in a comment, while they understood that the edit was meant to be funny, it quickly becomes enjoyable. Others noted that isolating these elements of the film made it even more clear just how Palpatine was able to set on the path towards the Empire.

When it comes to Palpatine, it appears that fans will getting to see more of him in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. While Palpatine was seemingly killed in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the first trailer for Rise of Skywalker ended with the villain’s signature laugh, something that felt like a big hint that Palpatine could actually return.

“I will say that that’s part of what the story is, and also, I will say that with the Emperor around, he’s not going to be your, you know, the cuddly pal,” director J.J. Abrams previously teased with MTV News. “I can’t wait for you to see how that plays out, but he’s in the poster for a reason.”

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker lands in theaters on December 20th.

What do you think of this fan edit of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace? Let us know in the comments below.