Star Wars: The Phantom Menace to Return to Theaters This May For Its 25th Anniversary

Duel of the Fates and podracing on the big screen once more!

Updated:

Feb 10, 2024 7:56 pm

Posted:

Feb 10, 2024 7:45 pm

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace will be returning to theaters for a limited time on May 3, 2024.

StarWars.com announced the news and shared some gorgeous new art and a poster for the film from artist Matt Ferguson, and it features Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Queen Amidala, and a young Anakin Skywalker.

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was first released in theaters on May 19, 1999, and was not only the first film in the prequel trilogy, but also Episode 1 of the Skywalker Saga that began with Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977.

The prequel trilogy is obviously a controversial topic for Star Wars fans, but even Ewan McGregor said back in 2022 that there’s now a “wave of positivity” about these three films.

“Now I meet the people who we made those films for, who were the kids of the time” McGregor said. “And our Star Wars films are their Star Wars films. In the way that Carrie Fisher and Alec Guinness and Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford’s films were ours, we’re theirs. And that’s beautiful that they were important to the kids who we made them for. It’s just so nice to finally get that wave of positivity about them.”

Being able to see the lightsaber battle between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul with Duel of the Fates blasting through theater speakers will sure be wonderful, and it will also be a nice way to help with the wait for The Mandalorian and Grogu in 2026 – the first new Star Wars film to be released in theaters since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker.

For more, check out where The Phantom Menace ranks on our list of the best Star Wars movies and why McGregor believes Duel of the Fates is still the best lightsaber fight.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.