Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace effort after a 22-year hiatus following "Star Wars" in 1977. "The Phantom Menace" was released in theaters on May 19, 1999, almost 16 years after the premiere of the previous "Star Wars" film, "Return of the Jedi". The film's premiere was extensively covered by media and was greatly anticipated because of the large cultural following the "Star Wars" saga had cultivated. It received mixed reviews; critics praised the visuals, action sequences, John Williams' musical score and some of the performances, but criticized the screenplay, characterization, and Ahmed Best and Jake Lloyd's performances (as Jar Jar Binks and Anakin Skywalker respectively).
Star Wars Episode I: Racer from the film were also reused. The podracers were recreated using specifications from the film, and the Tatooine environment was also sourced from the film. Several of the game's other locales had never appeared in a "Star Wars" game prior. The varied environments, Tosti said, were "to add more depth to the gameplay." During an IGN interview with LucasArts' Tom Byron at E3 1999 the question of online play was brought up. Byron was unsure, citing problems "mostly because of latency issues." Some multiplayer code from "" was utilized for "Episode I: Racer". Ultimately internet play was not included. The