Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the first installment in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy and stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August, and Frank Oz. The film is set 32 years before the original film, and follows Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi as they protect Queen Amidala in hopes of securing
Star Wars: Episode IX Walt Disney Company. Disney announced a new trilogy of "Star Wars" films. In August 2015, Colin Trevorrow was announced as the director of "Star Wars: Episode IX". Trevorrow, along with Derek Connolly, would write the script. It was also announced that Rian Johnson, director and writer of "", would create a story treatment for the film; however, in April 2017, Johnson stated he was not involved, claiming it was "old info". In February 2016, Disney chief executive officer Bob Iger confirmed that pre-production of "Episode IX" had begun. At the end of April 2017, Disney announced the film would be