History Trivia / ThePhantomMenace

* Creator/KellyMacdonald was in the running to portray [[Characters/StarWarsPadmeAmidala Queen Amidala]] before Creator/NataliePortman was cast.

** Creator/AhmedBest liked working on the theatrical film and doesn't hate Jar Jar Binks (the character he voiced and did mo-cap reference for), but he [[http://www.avclub.com/article/guy-who-played-jar-jar-binks-totally-gets-why-audi-230642 admitted]] that he totally gets why people hate the character and he has stated that he will not reprise the role in any future works. He would reveal many years later that he almost [[https://www.themarysue.com/ahmed-best-backlash-star-wars/ took his own life]] after the sheer amount of backlash he received for playing Jar-Jar. However in 2020 on Twitter he expressed his willingness to return to the role again, as long as the story is good.

* BTeamSequel: {{Averted}}. Creator/GeorgeLucas originally planned to take a backseat on this one as he had on ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' and ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. He asked Creator/RonHoward, Creator/StevenSpielberg and Creator/RobertZemeckis to direct, but they all found the project too daunting and suggested that Lucas direct it himself. Howard would later direct ''Film/SoloAStarWarsStory''.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Enough for [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/StarWars its own page]].
* YouSoundFamiliar: In the Japanese dub, Boss Nass is played by Creator/ToruOhira, who voiced Darth Vader in the Original Trilogy and ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''.

* ImageSource:
** {{Foreshadowing}}

* NotSoAbandonedBuilding: The filming crew was rushed away from the Mos Espa set by the Tunisian government once they were done filming there. Now, the set stands in the middle of nowhere, slowly degrading under the effects of the desert... don't worry, it's only degraded a little. The town actually holds up extremely well.

* AbandonedSet: The filming crew was rushed away from the Mos Espa set by the Tunisian government once they were done filming there. Now, the set stands in the middle of nowhere, slowly degrading under the effects of the desert... don't worry, it's only degraded a little. The town actually holds up extremely well.

* UnderageCasting: Qui-Gon Jinn is meant to be an old Jedi Master in his late-50s to early-60s according to supplementary material. Liam Neeson was 45 when he played him.

** Creator/AhmedBest liked working on the theatrical film and doesn't hate Jar Jar Binks (the character he voiced and did mo-cap reference for), but he [[http://www.avclub.com/article/guy-who-played-jar-jar-binks-totally-gets-why-audi-230642 admitted]] that he totally gets why people hate the character and he has stated that he will not reprise the role in any future works. He would reveal many years later that he almost [[https://www.themarysue.com/ahmed-best-backlash-star-wars/ took his own life]] after the sheer amount of backlash he received for playing Jar-Jar.
** However in 2020 on Twitter he expressed his willingness to return to the role again, as long as the story is good.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Sharp-eyed viewers will notice that Darth Maul has a helix piercing in his left ear. Ray Park meant to take it out before getting in the make-up chair, but forgot, and rather than disrupt the extensive make-up, they decided to leave it in, feeling the edgy-looking piercing fit Maul's character.

* FanNickname: Ric Olié is given the nickname of CaptainObvious, by virtue that nearly all of his lines are blatantly obvious assessments of what he sees.

** Creator/LiamNeeson apparently had such a bad experience making the film that he briefly expressed a desire to quit acting altogether.

** Matthew Wood replaced Michael Carter as Bib Fortuna.

** Darth Maul was played by Creator/RayPark, who is a martial arts expert and stunt man, not an actor, although he has had a number of acting roles since then. This is one of the reasons that he had virtually no lines. When he did have lines, Ray Park was just mouthing the words and English actor and comedian, Peter Serafinowicz, had his voice dubbed over it.

** Peter Serafinowicz didn't care for voicing Darth Maul either. He criticized Lucas' poor direction to him, which just amounted to, "Make him sound evil." He also was not happy that only three of his lines are in the movie, and that he only got a meager salary for those lines. On top of that, he was annoyed that he wasn't even invited to the film's premiere and had to pay for his own tickets and travel expenses, and he didn't think the film was very good on top of that.

** Peter Serafinowicz, the voice of Darth Maul, is a fan of the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, though unfortunately, as listed in CreatorBacklash above, this wasn't enough to make him enjoy the experience of working on the film.

** Creator/WarwickDavis played both Anakin's friend Wald and one of the podrace spectators Weazel. He was only credited for Wald, but he would reprise his role as Weazel in ''Film/{{Solo}}''.

%%* WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings: See CreatorBacklash.

** Jerome Blake played Rune Haako, Mas Amedda, Orn Free Taa and Oppo Rancisis. He was only credited for Haako.

** Ody Mandrell and Bib Fortuna are both played by Matthew Wood.

** Creator/LiamNeeson apparently had such a bad experience making the film that he breifly expressed a desire to quit acting altogether.