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Here are some hidden facts about Star Wars Episode I you may not have known.
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00:00If you needed a reminder of just how much glorious detail was painstakingly packed into George Lucas' first prequel,
00:09then just look at all of the following wonderful hidden facts and details that many still have not caught over
00:1625 years since the film premiered.
00:19Because I am Gareth, this is WhatCultureStarWars, and here are 9 hidden facts you didn't know about Star Wars Episode
00:26I, The Phantom Menace.
00:28Number 9, See No Evil, Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil Pit Droids.
00:33Not only did Episode I, The Phantom Menace see the arrival of the iconic B1 battle droid,
00:39it also brought with it a ton of other interesting new droid faces, including the hapless DUM series Pit Droids.
00:46Or D-U-M series, I just like saying dumb.
00:49These silly little scamps could be seen helping out during the Boonta Eve classic,
00:53with one of them even learning the hard way what happens when you walk in front of a gigantic pod
00:58racer intake.
00:59And it was after that awkward moment when the VFX team snuck in a rather fun little detail.
01:05If you look closely at three of the record-setting droids, you'll spot them doing something quite familiar.
01:12One can be seen looking away and shaking their head,
01:15another is covering where a person's mouth typically would be,
01:19and the last has their hands over where someone's ears would usually go.
01:24In other words, they seem to be doing the droid version of the famous Three Wise Monkeys proverb.
01:29See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil?
01:32If they didn't see, hear or speak about this pod-wrecking mess,
01:36maybe they could all just pretend it never happened.
01:38This was a very funny droid moment, but I want to know right now,
01:42what do you think is the funniest droid moment in all of Star Wars?
01:45Let me know in the comments.
01:47And speaking of droids, number 8, even droids have to clean their vehicles.
01:51Keeping with the mechanical faces found wandering around the galaxy throughout this first prequel,
01:57the opening stages of Episode 1 introduced the world to the aforementioned B-1 battle droids.
02:03Many of those skeleton-like bots were quickly dispatched by Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi on the Trade
02:09Federation ship early on.
02:11But the two Jedi quickly learned that many more were preparing to invade Naboo.
02:15It's during that scene when Jinn and Kenobi decide to stow aboard the droid ships and warn the Naboo about
02:22what's heading their way,
02:23when one of the invading troops can just about be seen doing something very comical in the background.
02:29You see, in the wide shot that shows off that droid army,
02:33one B-1 series soldier is scrubbing an armoured assault tank,
02:37performing the sort of soul-crushing task a parent would typically get their kid to do for their own car
02:42to earn some extra pocket money.
02:44Nope, just me? Okay.
02:45Making the hiding-in-plain-sight sequence even funnier,
02:49it actually looks like another droid is supervising this last-minute spruce-up,
02:54cracking the mechanical whip and demanding to see their expressionless face in that bumper.
02:58You can't be invading a peaceful planet with a dirty tank now, can you?
03:02Number 7. The Maltese Falcon Makes Its Way to the Galaxy Far, Far Away
03:06In case you didn't know, the Maltese Falcon is one of the most famous props in Hollywood history.
03:11Appearing in the classic 1941 noir movie of the same name,
03:15a number of these statuettes were crafted for the picture,
03:18with one made of resin actually going missing for 50 years,
03:22before eventually being purchased by a group that included Leonardo DiCaprio for $300,000.
03:28Simply put, it's a quite valuable and well-known piece of movie history,
03:33and it's one that actually, sort of, secretly appeared in Episode 1.
03:37Look closely around Palpatine's office on Coruscant,
03:39an office that we will mention again before this list is finished,
03:43and you'll spot a statuette that looks just like the legendary bird Leo and Co.
03:48would ultimately pay big money for.
03:50Was this just George Lucas' way of saluting a classic feature,
03:54or was he actually hinting at Palpatine's moral ambiguity with the prop,
03:59as noted by new rock stars in their breakdown and analysis of the movie?
04:04It could be both, I'll let you decide.
04:06Number 6. The Beggars A New Hope Callback
04:09Along with the pulsating duel of the fates,
04:12the most captivating sequence of this first prequel
04:15is undoubtedly the high-speed Boonta Eve classic pod race.
04:20Here, Anakin Skywalker has to weave his way through the rocks and sand of Tatooine,
04:26all while trying to avoid being shot by Tusken Raiders and crashing into canyons.
04:31The latter was actually a subtle nod to a line Luke Skywalker first uttered all the way back in 1977,
04:37you know?
04:38With the farm boy noting how the Death Star Trench was just like Beggars Canyon.
04:43That same location is the one his father is seen speeding through here in The Phantom Menace,
04:49and does indeed resemble the strip that Luke would fly down in his X-Wing
04:53before blowing up that first version of the planet-killing space station.
04:56Beggars Canyon would also show up in the Book of Boba Fett series,
05:00with Din Djarin flying through the same place the Skywalkers once had in his N-1 Naboo starfighter in the
05:06show.
05:07And you'll never guess where Obi-Wan Kenobi is riding off to when he reunites with Qui-Gon Jinn at
05:12the end of his TV show.
05:13That's right, the very same canyon first mentioned back in 1977's Star Wars.
05:19Are you enjoying this Star Wars list right here?
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05:29Number 5. The Secret George Lucas Cameo on Naboo
05:32The Lucas clan had fun little cameo roles throughout the prequels,
05:36with perhaps the most famous being George Lucas himself appearing as Baron Papanoida in Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith.
05:43But did you know that he actually secretly had another cameo in this Star Wars trilogy?
05:49Remember when Queen Amidala and her palace guards are sprinting around Naboo towards the end of the movie,
05:54just before they get surrounded by droids?
05:56Well, look up at the stone archway above them, and you'll notice a little face in the middle of it.
06:02That face belongs to none other than the mind behind the galaxy far, far away,
06:06and was put there by the person who created the stunning matte painting used to enhance the practical set.
06:13After former Industrial Light and Magic matte painter Caroline Jett Green added George into the work of art,
06:20she was told this cheeky appearance probably needed his approval,
06:24and Lucas apparently responded with an,
06:26oh, naughty naughty, when he saw it,
06:28before eventually saying,
06:30okay, leave it in.
06:31Number 4.
06:31Palpatine's evil music is lurking in the background at the end.
06:36Staying on the planet of Naboo for this next entry,
06:39Lucas' first prequel concludes with a wonderful celebration,
06:43as Gungans and the Naboo party on the streets after seeing off the Trade Federation.
06:48It's a jolly and rousing final scene,
06:52though fans were well aware that the good times would not last,
06:55and this trilogy wasn't going to end on the most positive of notes.
06:59The darkness on the horizon was secretly foreshadowed here,
07:02if you were listening closely.
07:04You see, the upbeat tune heard throughout these closing stages is more important than it seems,
07:11as it's actually linked to the most awful person in the galaxy,
07:14a figure who was already covertly pulling the strings
07:17and plotting the rise of his new empire at this point in time.
07:22The theme of Emperor Palpatine heard during the original trilogy
07:26sounds strangely similar to the Augie's Great Municipal Band theme
07:32playing at the end of this prequel,
07:34with the latter just being a faster and lighter version of the darker melody.
07:39Much like Palpatine himself in this moment,
07:42the song may give off the appearance of being friendly and positive,
07:46but there's a great evil lurking underneath the surface.
07:50Number 3, Luke's Land Speeder Returned.
07:53Right, so here's a fun one.
07:54First appearing all the way back in 1977 on Tatooine,
07:58the speeder Luke Skywalker used to fly through the sands of the desert world
08:03was something every person on our own planet desperately wished they had parked in the garage.
08:09It doesn't get much cooler than a hover car, right?
08:11And in a little salute to the iconic speeder that was made to look like it was floating on air
08:17by using mirrors to reflect the desert sand,
08:20George Lucas and Co. actually dumped an almost identical one
08:24into the scene where Qui-Gon Jinn and Padme arrive on Tatooine in episode 1.
08:28This wasn't just a case of creating a new model
08:31and changing its colour from red to green for the 1999 movie, though.
08:36It turns out that they actually used the exact same X-34 Land Speeder
08:40first seen in 1977's Star Wars,
08:43and just spray-painted it a different colour before sneaking it into the background.
08:47How cool.
08:48Number 2, Darth Sidious is openly chatting to his Sith apprentice on Palpatine's balcony.
08:53It was pretty clear to most viewers that Senator Palpatine
08:57was the dude under the hood seen chatting to the Trade Federation
09:00and Darth Maul throughout episode 1.
09:03But the people in the galaxy far, far away weren't exactly aware
09:06that he was secretly Darth Sidious,
09:08even though he wasn't really doing that much to hide it.
09:11Let me explain.
09:12There's a memorable scene there when Sidious and Maul have a chat on a balcony on Coruscant,
09:17with the latter telling him,
09:18at last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi,
09:20at last we will have our revenge.
09:22Now, if you compare that balcony to the one seen outside of Palpatine's office
09:27in the same movie,
09:29you'll actually find that Sidious is wandering across the exact same one
09:33when talking to his Sith apprentice.
09:35With this conversation going down at night,
09:37perhaps their big black cloaks made them invisible
09:40to the average flying vehicle soaring past Sheev's place of work.
09:45Or maybe Palpatine just enjoyed the thrill of living on the edge.
09:48Either way, for the few audience members out there
09:50who didn't realise the Sheev-Sith connection,
09:53Luca secretly let them know that Palps and Sidious were linked
09:56with something as simple as a balcony.
09:58Number one, Anakin's pod switches are actually from a Fiat.
10:02You've no doubt heard of the many fascinating ways
10:05George Lucas and his team took real-world items
10:08and transformed them into pieces of tech used in this galaxy far, far away,
10:13with many brilliant examples being present in episode one.
10:17Away from more obvious and famous things,
10:19like Qui-Gon Jinn using a women's razor to communicate,
10:22you may not be aware of the fact that Anakin Skywalker's pod racer
10:26also possessed some rather familiar features.
10:29As he flicks the switches within that rapid vehicle
10:32during the Boonta Eve classic,
10:34those who spent some time driving around in a Fiat Uno from the 80s
10:37will possibly recognise some of them.
10:39That's because they were taken right from that car
10:42and used to craft Annie's winning pod,
10:45with V-brakes from a bike seemingly also being used for it too.
10:49A fun little bit of trivia for you as well,
10:50Lucas' first car was apparently a Fiat,
10:53one that he used to race and almost got killed in.
10:56So you could say this was George's way of chucking
10:59a bit of his own history into the galaxy far, far away.
11:02You could say it, that's what I'm going to say,
11:04and I'm sticking to it.
11:04So you could say it, that's what I'm going to say.
11:04So you could say it, that's what I'm going to say.
11:05So you could say it, that's what I'm going to say.
11:05So you could say it, that's what I'm going to say.
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